Becoming a Certified Sommelier

My name is Ryan, and I come from a family that is totally immersed in food. Ever since we could stand up, my mom would have my two brothers (one older, one younger) and I next to the stove learning how to cook. We come from a very small town in Michigan (called Traverse City) that is quickly making a big name for it.

My little brother works at an award-winning restaurant in North Carolina called Kindred. And when I say award-winning, I mean it was on Bon Apetit's top 10 Best New Restaurants of 2015.



My older brother used to be a chef as well, but now he's in the wine industry like me, working at one of the best new wineries in Michigan called "Mari Vineyards".


I've been working with wine for over 10 years now, at wineries, wine bars, restaurants, and several wine shops, and when I'm not working, I'm also writing about it on my own blog, as well as a website called imgur. This is a screen shot from my introductory wine post. Ever since I first heard about the Court of Master Sommeliers, it has always been my biggest dream to become a sommelier. Long before the award-winning documentary "Somm" came out a few years ago, I heard about the test and I couldn't wait to try it myself. And then, one day, I finally had everything PERFECT.



I took the Introductory (a.k.a. level 1) exam, and about 6 months later, my parents surprised me by helping me pay for my Certified (or "level 2") exam, and I was absolutely over the moon!


I practiced blind tasting wine with my friends, I read every book I could find, and I spent a lot of sleepless nights worrying about it. You can see in this photo there are lots of pieces of paper on the table. These pieces of paper are the "Tasting Grid" that we use on the exam. Basically, they are guides on how to figure out what kind of wine you're tasting by writing down certain things like the types of fruit or the alcohol percentage. 


Everything was going amazingly until one night,

tragedy struck.

One night, I fell asleep studying in my chair, and when I woke up, my left wrist wasn't working.

You see, the "certified" exam involves three parts: theory, where you have to answer a series of wine-related questions, followed by BLIND tasting, where they give you a small sample of a white wine and a red wine, and your job is to determine what kind of grape it's made from, and ultimately what kind of wine, and the last part of the test is service.

You have to perform champagne service in front of a Master Sommelier while they are asking you questions and watching you like a hawk. Part of champagne service involves carrying glasses to the table on a tray, and my left wrist was numb, so I couldn't carry a tray. Even with the wrist brace, it was still almost impossible.  This led to my heartbreaking test results.

The photo below is a scan of my actual results page.

As you can see, I did spectacularly on my tasting and theory results, but it was the service part of the test that I failed, and you have to pass all three parts in order to pass the exam. It's sad, but it's really simple: I failed the exam my parents and I paid $595 because of my wrist injury.

I am currently going to school at the University of Michigan, where I've not been able to find a job I can do that allows me to do school as well. Over the summer I plan to work as hard as I can, but I don't think I will be able to afford all of my regular bills as well as be able to afford to take this test again. Any little bit you can help with would make a huge difference. I know that they will be offering the level 2 test in Michigan in the Fall of 2017, which is probably the only one I would be able to go to. I can't afford to fly anywhere to take the test sooner, and I don't have access to a car to use to drive to somewhere near by.

Taking this test again with a working wrist would mean the world to me, and I know it will help me to continue down the career path I feel I was destined for ever since my first job in the wine industry. And if you can help me to become a sommelier, I promise I will help you find the best deals I can get for you on your favorite wines.


Each of the four levels of the Court of Master Sommelier diplomas (Introductory, Certifed, Advanced, and Master) come with a pin you wear on your lapel, and they are your badge of honor for having completed the level for which you were tested. I will always cherish my Introductory pin, but putting that Certified pin on the lapel of my suit would make me the happiest man in Michigan.

Sadly, there is no reduced rate to retake the exam; so I must come up with $595 if I am going to follow my dream, which is why I've come to the website that makes dreams come true.

Thank you for reading,

Ryan Rozycki

For those of you wishing to read the introductory wine post I wrote