Great analogy OP. 

Baylinor, I drink way more wine than beer, but beer has become as complex and interesting as wine and audio.  

As others have stated, a somm must be able to identify a wine in detail, blind, to get certified, and there are different levels. I have a friend that is a top level somm and he did it just for fun. 

For us laypersons, the rules are simple.

1. If you like the wine, it is good. No matter what anyone else says.

2. If you like the sound of your component/rig, see rule #1. 

No certification required.

The best resource is an honest, brick and mortar audio dealer but from what I hear from y'all is these are getting harder to find. 

No matter what the topic, it always comes down to a matter of trust as a result of credibility. Some have it and some do not. Trust is earned, not owned. Lots of shysters out there. Also lots of credible people worth trusting. You decide who is who.

The difference in taste is easily explained by science. Taste is controlled by the taste buds on your tung. The number of taste buds carry greatly from person to person. This is why some can handle spice some can’t, it’s why some say it’s to sweet others just right. As far as what a person can and can’t hear is not as easily explained but everyone has different hearing levels and what you hear is not what I hear. I think in a forum like this one more than half the bias critics are jealous of envious that they don’t have the means to spend f u money on a piece of stereo equipment. This leads to their argument that a $1000 amp sounds as good as a $20,000 amp. Don’t get me wrong that quality has a definitive price tag it does not but it does cost more to use the best material over run of the mill parts.

@lwin :

I do get frustrated by those who insult others on this forum. If a power cord ,fuse etc. makes a positive difference in your system and you want to share your experience with others you shouldn’t be subjected to ridicule. I have gotten some great information on this and other forums.
 I trust my ears and palate but I appreciate the opinions of others. We are all different to some extent thank goodness or the the world be a really boring place.

Great post. Well said ☝️

I thought sommeliers had formal training. And there were different levels for different certifications. They learn about growing, dirt, cultivation, weather, etc. as influences in the taste, plus have experience in tasting and distinguishing. 

I don't drink anymore but would trust a sommelier to make recommendations from their cellar for the table. 

I think in audio, there really are no qualifications are there? Someone can have engineering experience, which is good, but that doesn't necessarily translate to knowing what gear sounds like or even what to listen for. Many of my guests over the years have been working musicians. They usually comment that they have never heard anything comparable to the kind of playback a high end system can deliver-probably because they simply haven't been exposed to much of the stuff we take for granted. I enjoy their reactions-- not to the "audiophile spectacular" stuff, but to records they know--like, wow, I never heard the kick drum that clearly- or those horn parts are amazing. 

I'll never be an audio sommelier. But, that isn't terribly important to me at this stage of my life. As to the fruit of the vine, enjoy. We used to spend a lot of time in Beaune, France. And you realize why that juice is so expensive. The plots of land on which the grapes are grown are small, there's not a huge output each year. We had a favorite restaurant just outside of town that we used to frequent. It was a hang for the vineyard people. They had a pretty crazy cellar. Been years....