Sommelier/Wine Waiter

Sommeliers or wine waiters manage the wine service in restaurants, wine bars, cafés and hotels.

Their responsibilities can include:

• designing a wine list or cocktail menu
• selecting wines and beverages
• advising customers
• serving drinks correctly
• ordering, controlling and rotating stock
• assisting with other front-of-house tasks.

A commis, or trainee, could also be expected to:

• lay tables and prepare equipment for use
• clean glassware and other equipment
• do manual work in the cellar.

Sommeliers normally work a shift system, including evenings, weekends and bank holidays.

They spend most of their time front of house, working between customers' tables and the bar area. It may be hot, crowded and noisy.

The job might involve some travel in the UK and overseas to attend tastings.

Salaries range from around £13,000 to £40,000 or more a year.

A sommelier or wine waiter should have:

• a thorough knowledge of wines
• a good palate for wine
• an ability to relate to people from all over the world
• an understanding of the wine and spirits industry
• good communication and selling skills
• stamina and the ability to stay on their feet for long periods.

Employers vary from large restaurant chains to small, independent wine bars and from country hotels to private members' clubs. Some sommeliers work overseas in holiday resorts, in hotels or on cruise ships.

No academic qualifications are required to become a wine waiter, but most have previous experience in a bar or restaurant and have spent time developing their knowledge of wine.

Training is mainly carried out on the job, with junior sommeliers learning the trade from more experienced staff.

Many sommeliers or wine waiters work towards qualifications with professional bodies such as WSET, the Court of Master Sommeliers or the Institute of Masters of Wine.

A sommelier or wine waiter may progress to supervisory or management roles in hotels, bars and restaurants, become a wine taster or a manager for a wine importer or manufacturer or start a business in the wine trade.

Further details