By: Michelle Scheuermann, editor, Archery Wire

Many of you who just read that title have no idea who Fred Dame is and the few that are still with me, may not know the O.G. of the sommelier world is, in fact, a big-time waterfowl hunter. When someone who has mastered a skill in their respective world turns out to also be a hunter, I get super excited and want to meet them.

Ok, let me back this up…Fred Dame is a Master Sommelier. He’s the first Master Sommelier to exist in the United States. Before him, it only existed in Europe. The Master Sommelier title is weighty and the number Master Sommeliers IN THE WORLD is small because achieving that title takes a massive amount of studying and yes, drinking a helluva lot of wine. (Dame was quoted in this January, 2019 article that there were 175 Master Sommeliers at that time.)

Don’t believe me? Watch the documentary, Somm, which follows four candidates attempting to achieve Master of Sommelier status. In the end, I actually felt a little sorry for them all.

Mr. Dame has been in the wine industry since the 70’s and after taking the Master of Sommelier exam in 1984 (which he passed on the first try, most don’t), he brought it to the U.S. and created a Court of Master Sommeliers, (whew!). Fred could be credited for why that sommelier is helping you choose your bottle of wine at your next fancy dinner, because before him, they really didn’t exist in the U.S. Fascinating, right?

Ok, maybe only fascinating to me as I truly enjoy wine and therefore, I enjoy all the pomp and circumstance around it – from learning the history of vineyards and wineries, to visiting them, to tasting, to finally opening the bottle.

And I enjoy hunting. Can you see how I want to go hunting with Fred Dame now? Here’s the kicker, when I Googled for “Fred Dame and hunting” not a whole lot surfaced. The only reason I knew Fred was a waterfowl hunter is because in Somm: Into the Bottle, he was interviewed near a duck blind in full waterfowl gear, even cradling his gun, which was pointed in a safe direction at all times, of course. I thought when I Googled about his hunting passions, I would find people sharing their displeasure at seeing hunting gear and a gun in the film. But it doesn’t exist – at least in public. And mind you – THIS IS CALIFORNIA. Fred hunts by Sacramento, which is the home for California Waterfowl Association. (I wonder if Fred is a member?) My good friend Scott Leysath, The Sporting Chef, who lives in Folsom, always tells me Sacramento is the “other California.”

Does the wine world embrace hunting because of its agricultural roots? Or do they just embrace Fred Dame so much, they don’t care? Or maybe they didn’t realize what he was actually doing out there in that duck blind…Nonetheless, Mr. Dame, if you are looking for a new waterfowl adventure, Minnesota is home to plenty of Canada Goose and a variety of duck species. We’ll invite Mr. Leysath to cook it all for us because I can’t cook anything like Scott. Oh, and I’ll bring the wine for after the hunt.