Uncorked

It’s known as one of the hardest exams in the world: the test to become a master sommelier. Fewer than 200 people have ever passed in the U.S. And becoming a master can mean doubling your salary overnight. But a revelation about cheating on an exam last September rocked this elite world.

Now, a year later, a Scripps News investigation has uncovered new internal documents and spoken to multiple master sommeliers who are raising questions for the first time about new, deeper problems at the top of America’s most elite world of wine.