Pacific Grove product Fred Dame rose from local busboy to president of the Court of Master Sommeliers.

Witnessing him blind taste is mind-boggling– his sniffer is the stuff of legend.

Chris Caul, owner of Christopher’s Restaurant in Carmel, has witnessed Fred Dame’s skills in person. “The first time I met him was at Crème Carmel [which is now the Gem],” Caul says. “Fred just happened to stop by an employee dinner where we always had a good bottle.

“There was a little left, so the owner told me to pour him a taste, but to not to tell him what it was. I handed him the glass. ‘Ooh. Nice. Earthy. That smells like a St. Estephe,’ he said– and he correctly guessed the year, too: ‘That’s a ’78.’ He didn’t even taste it. I looked around for Candid Camera.”

More shocking still: Dame didn’t taste the wines when he passed the final test required to become the third master sommelier in the United States– guessing five of six wines perfectly.

He didn’t stop there. In 24 years since, he’s risen as high as president of the Board of Master Sommeliers, one of the most powerful posts in the wine world.

But his start was humble. And local.

“I didn’t set out to do this,” Dame says. “I wanted to become a lawyer.”

During college summers, however, he started to work in the Peninsula’s food industry, taking new positions each time.

“When I went to law school, I realized I didn’t like it,” Dame says, “so I went on a leave of absence.” After working a variety of odd jobs for Sardine Factory owners Ted Balestreri and Bert Cutino, he became an assistant manager at the restaurant.

“As wine grew, I just grew along with it. I was studying, tasting, collecting and one thing led to the next. It just sort of happened. It’s such a fascinating and unique industry. It drinks you up.”

Dame soon earned a better job: cellar master of the Sardine Factory, a position Dame held from 1981-89.

In 1986, he founded the American Branch of the Court of Master Sommeliers and served as its chairman for the first five years. Later, he became the first American to serve as president of the mostly European world-wide branch of the Court of Master Sommeliers. Bryan Julyan, the man who started the whole thing in England in 1969, appointed him to a two-year term as president eight years ago.

Like his beginnings, Dame’s approach to his job is humble, driven as much by enthusiasm as sophistication. As the court’s chairman emeritus, he administers the board’s foundation; he also helps design sommelier certification tests, and teaches intro-level courses.

“I’ve retired from the high-end examinations,” he says. “I get a lot of satisfaction out of teaching level one. That’s what I like, it’s fun and there’s less stress.” The class-clown grin he wears while lecturing (along with a navy-blue blazer with gold buttons and highly polished shoes) proves his point. “How do people from New Zealand find their sheep in tall grass?” he asks one class of oenophiles. “Delightful!”

During the two-day course, he peppers his students with questions: Is the color bright or dull? Are the legs close or far apart? Does the rim have a rust color? Is the nose earthy or fruit-driven? Full or light bodied? Warm or cool climate? Do the tears fall fast? What color are they?

“People want to become a master sommelier for numerous reasons,” says Dame, who lives in San Francisco with his wife and two children, 9 and 2. “Some are ego driven and others are great teachers. I teach, and I tell the new master sommeliers to do the same. If you think the day you passed was great, wait until you see your first student pass.”

Given this passion, it’s not surprising his children are among his students. “I’ve already started giving them tastes,” he says. “It’s not all wine though. It’s 10 parts water and one part wine.”