# Fred Dame

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American wine professional

Fred Dame Born 1952 or 1953 (age 72–73)[1]

**Fred Dame** is an American [wine professional](/source/List_of_wine_professionals).

Dame was born in California and attended [Washington and Lee University](/source/Washington_and_Lee_University), earning a degree in journalism and communications.[2]

Dame in 1984 became a Master Sommelier, passing the exam in London before the United States had a court.[3] He was the first person to pass all three parts of the Master Sommelier examination on the first attempt, which is called "winning the Krug Cup".[4][2][5]

In 1986 he was co-founder of the [Court of Master Sommeliers](/source/Court_of_Master_Sommeliers) in the United States and was its first president.[3][1][6][7] He has been called "the godfather of the American sommelier community".[6][8] He appeared in the 2012 documentary about American sommelier candidates, [SOMM](/source/Somm_(film)).[9][10] In that documentary other Master Sommeliers described him as intimidating.[3]

In 2020, during the [Me Too movement](/source/MeToo_movement), Dame was accused by multiple female Master Sommeliers or former Master Sommelier candidates of sexual harassment and eventually expelled from the organization.[1][11][8][9]

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-moskinNYT29oct20_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-moskinNYT29oct20_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-moskinNYT29oct20_1-2) Moskin, Julia (2020-10-29). ["The Wine World's Most Elite Circle Has a Sexual Harassment Problem"](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/29/dining/drinks/court-of-master-sommeliers-sexual-harassment-wine.html). *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)*. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0362-4331](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0362-4331). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20230531164921/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/29/dining/drinks/court-of-master-sommeliers-sexual-harassment-wine.html) from the original on 2023-05-31. Retrieved 2023-06-26.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:5_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:5_2-1) [Master Sommelier Frederick L. Dame](https://www.sandiegowineclassic.com/bio/personalities-bio-popup_Dame_Fred.html) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20180218024140/https://www.sandiegowineclassic.com/bio/personalities-bio-popup_Dame_Fred.html) 2018-02-18 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine) San Diego Wine Classic

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:3_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:3_3-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-:3_3-2) ["Somm"](https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/somm/umc.cmc.7jggeycbgu8au5i94gf9xsyia). 2013-06-21. Retrieved 2023-06-26.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** [Master Sommelier Fred Dame: Best Job In The World](http://www.ilikethisgrape.com/master-sommelier-best-job-in-the-world/) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20220525141905/https://ilikethisgrape.com/master-sommelier-best-job-in-the-world/) 2022-05-25 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine) PAUL HODGINS, MARCH 23, 2016

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** [The roast of master sommelier Fred Dame](https://blog.jordanwinery.com/2014/05/the-roast-of-master-sommelier-fred-dame/) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20180218090301/https://blog.jordanwinery.com/2014/05/the-roast-of-master-sommelier-fred-dame/) 2018-02-18 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine) Jordan Winery, May 2014

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:1_6-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:1_6-1) Parente, Michelle (2020-01-02). ["'Godfather of American sommeliers' Fred Dame pouring Daou wines at San Diego pairing dinner"](https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/entertainment/dining-and-drinking/story/2020-01-02/godfather-of-american-sommeliers-fred-dame-pouring-dauo-wines-at-san-diego-pairing-dinner). *[San Diego Union-Tribune](/source/San_Diego_Union-Tribune)*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20230321041123/https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/entertainment/dining-and-drinking/story/2020-01-02/godfather-of-american-sommeliers-fred-dame-pouring-dauo-wines-at-san-diego-pairing-dinner) from the original on 2023-03-21. Retrieved 2023-06-26.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["The Reign of Fred Dame | SevenFifty Daily"](https://beverlyhillswineclub.com/the-reign-of-fred-dame-sevenfifty-daily/). *[Beverly Hills Wine Club](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Beverly_Hills_Wine_Club&action=edit&redlink=1)*. 2019-10-28. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20230129013600/https://beverlyhillswineclub.com/the-reign-of-fred-dame-sevenfifty-daily/) from the original on 2023-01-29. Retrieved 2023-06-26.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:2_8-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:2_8-1) Southern, Keiran (2023-06-26). ["Fred Dame, godfather of US wine, may be cast out 'for slapping women'"](https://www.thetimes.com/world/us-world/article/fred-dame-godfather-of-us-wine-cast-out-for-slapping-women-qvb27jvq2). *[The Times of London](/source/The_Times_of_London)*. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0140-0460](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0140-0460). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20220121033136/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/fred-dame-godfather-of-us-wine-cast-out-for-slapping-women-qvb27jvq2) from the original on 2022-01-21. Retrieved 2023-06-26.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:4_9-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:4_9-1) Mobley, Esther (2021-11-17). ["Wine's most prestigious group moves to expel six master sommeliers after sexual misconduct investigation"](https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/wine/article/Wine-s-most-prestigious-group-expels-six-master-16629248.php). *[San Francisco Chronicle](/source/San_Francisco_Chronicle)*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20230209055925/https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/wine/article/Wine-s-most-prestigious-group-expels-six-master-16629248.php) from the original on 2023-02-09. Retrieved 2023-06-26.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Chang, Justin (2013-06-21). ["Film Review: 'Somm'"](https://variety.com/2013/film/reviews/somm-review-1200500332/). *[Variety](/source/Variety_(newspaper))*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20180528183522/http://variety.com/2013/film/reviews/somm-review-1200500332/) from the original on 2018-05-28. Retrieved 2023-06-26.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Lawati, Ning Sang (2021-11-19). ["Court of Master Sommeliers expels six members over sexual harassment"](https://vino-joy.com/2021/11/19/court-of-master-sommeliers-expel-six-members-over-sexual-harassment/). *[Vino Joy News](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vino_Joy_News&action=edit&redlink=1)*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20230528062827/https://vino-joy.com/2021/11/19/court-of-master-sommeliers-expel-six-members-over-sexual-harassment/) from the original on 2023-05-28. Retrieved 2023-06-26.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Fred Dame](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Dame) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Dame?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.