Emily Wines is an American wine professional and as of December 2020 board chair of the

Court of Master Sommeliers The Court of Master Sommeliers (CMS) is an educational organisation established in 1977 to encourage improved standards of beverage service by sommeliers, particularly in wine and food pairing. From the court's inception through 2018, a worldwid ...

(CMS) of the United States.

Early life

Wines grew up in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

Career

Wines began working in the restaurant industry in San Francisco as a young adult. She received her Master Sommelier accreditation in 2008. She was featured in the 2012 documentary '' Somm''. She worked for Kimpton Hotels. In 2017, she became vice president for beverage for

Cooper's Hawk Cooper's hawk (''Astur cooperii'') is a medium-sized hawk native to the North American continent and found from southern Canada to Mexico. This species was formerly placed in the genus ''Accipiter''. As in many birds of prey, the male is small ...

. Wines received a Grand Award from ''

Wine Spectator ''Wine Spectator'' is an American lifestyle magazine that focuses on wine, wine culture and wine ratings. It is the flagship publication of M. Shanken Communications, which also publishes ''Cigar Aficionado'', ''Whisky Advocate'', ''Market Watch' ...

'' and a

James Beard James Andrews Beard (May 5, 1903 – January 21, 1985) was an American chef, cookbook author, teacher and television personality. He pioneered television cooking shows, taught at The James Beard Cooking School in New York City and Seaside ...

nomination for wine service.

Court of Master Sommeliers

She previously served as a CMS board member from 2013 to 2015. In 2018, CMS experienced a cheating scandal. In 2020, during the

Me Too movement #MeToo is a social movement and Consciousness raising, awareness campaign against sexual abuse, sexual harassment and rape culture, in which women publicize their experiences of sexual abuse or sexual harassment. The phrase "Me Too" was init ...

, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' revealed a pattern of sexual harassment involving multiple powerful male members of CMS. In response to the sexual harassment scandal, the body made a statement in support of the women who had spoken up, but omitted mention of increased transparency or investigations. Public feedback to the response was negative. In November, the court issued an apology to the women named in the article in the ''Times''. It also announced the suspensions of seven of its Master Sommeliers pending further investigation, and the resignation of another Master Sommelier. Those suspended included Fred Dame, a co-founder of the group. The organization in November 2020 held elections and replaced chair Devon Broglie, who had subsequently to the original ''New York Times'' story been himself accused of sexual harassment, with Wines. Broglie, as well as being the board chair, had been a member of the organization's ethics committee, which was in charge of investigating sexual misconduct. Wines prioritized professionalizing the organization by hiring an executive director; the organization hire Julie Cohen Theobald and added board seats representing industries unrelated to hospitality.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wines, Emily Master Sommeliers American queer women Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American people 21st-century American LGBTQ people American sommeliers