Want to Work in the Wine Industry? Discover Your Dream Job and How to Get It!
Table of Contents
Wine Careers for Everyone
The wine sector provides career opportunities for folks from diverse backgrounds. Let’s get this out of the way at the top: not all opportunities are on the West Coast; instead, there are infinite numbers all over the United States and the rest of the world. From GED to PhD, no matter who you are, there is a job for you in the wine trade.
At the Winery
Winemaker
At the heart of the wine trade is the winemaker. This is one of the best jobs I have ever had: guiding the entire winemaking process from harvest to bottling. Most wineries, officially or unofficially, would prefer to select individuals—like myself—who have completed a Master’s in Viticulture and have previous winemaking experience.
Certifications Required
However, America’s top winemaking school, the University of California at Davis, only matriculates an average of 15 such winemakers annually. There will never be enough talented winemakers with these exclusive credentials!
Most wineries now seek other types of certification, including sommelier certification from one of the many wine schools across the United States. Some schools also offer a winemaking certificate course, which is strongly recommended. Wineries value both experience and training, so internships are common.
Income & Job
Before crush, a winemaker monitors grape ripeness and vine health with vineyard managers. After crush, they work with their cellar team to oversee wine chemistry and maintain records required by the FDA and TTB.
The annual salary for a novice winemaker is well into the six figures, with incomes the highest in areas like Napa Valley.
Vineyard Manager
Vineyard managers are an overlooked profession but integral to wine quality. In the United States, they are typically employed by a vineyard owner rather than a winery.
A good vineyard manager will increase a vineyard’s profitability in several ways. Quality indicators, such as the vineyard’s health, pruning methods, and disease management, affect the prices the owner can command for its grapes. Vineyards that consistently produce above-industry-average grapes may command prices far beyond the industry average.
Certifications Required
A background in agriculture is essential, but it can vary from a degree in agricultural science to simply working a few years in a vineyard. We recommend at least a level three sommelier certification and at least two summer internships.
Income & Job
The job encompasses pruning and caring for the vineyard, controlling pests and other diseases, maintaining the irrigation system, and managing the grape harvest. A vineyard manager can earn an average yearly salary in the lower six digits.
Assistant Winemaker
The Assistant Winemaker is often the first step in a winemaking career. The assistant winemaker helps with all aspects of viticulture and is frequently offered a head winemaker position within several years.
Certifications Required
Larger wineries tend to want applicants with a minimum of a Bachelor’s degree and a few years of experience. However, most wineries are happy with a candidate with a Level Three Wine Certification and a summer internship.
Income & Job
An assistant winemaker is responsible for completing the winemaker’s daily punch list, training the cellar team, and day-to-day quality control. They also perform laboratory analyses and help the winemaker throughout production. The income for an assistant winemaker varies greatly.
Cellar Master
The cellar master is essential to a winery’s day-to-day operations. They are responsible for the cellar’s general safety and cleanliness and for its proper functioning.
Certifications Required
In the past, a cellar master was expected to have a bachelor’s degree. Now, a sommelier certification and some work as a cellar hand is often enough to get your foot in the door.
Income & Job
The cellar master typically earns a high five-figure salary. Their daily routine includes general maintenance of winemaking equipment, keeping cellar conditions up to code, keeping the wine storage facility in order, and moving wine when necessary.
Tasting Room Manager
Tasting room managers supervise daily operations and employees at the winery’s tasting room. The job usually requires a decent knowledge of wine, the ability to resolve customer complaints effectively, and techniques for managing staff.
Income, Job & Certifications
Tasting room managers are paid in the high five figures. They ensure staff efficiency, achieve sales targets, respond to customer complaints, take inventory, and keep the business open and closed every day. A level three sommelier certification is all that is typically required.
Wine Professions in the Restaurant
Sommelier
At its most basic, a sommelier suggests wine pairings for restaurant patrons. This position requires the Advanced Sommelier Certificate. In the first few years of restaurant work, sommeliers earn a salary in the high five figures. High six-figure salaries are expected for sommeliers who manage wine lists for hotel and restaurant groups.
A sommelier’s duties include developing wine lists, buying and managing inventory, and training waiters to identify wines.
Wine Service and Retail Careers
Wine Shop Manager
Being a wine shop manager is a quasi-retail management job with another dimension of wine added to duties. Formal schooling is not required for the job, except an Advanced Sommelier Certification is highly recommended.
Salaries for wine shop managers vary, but the average is in the high five figures plus bonuses. The position entails stock holding and ordering, devoting special attention to client service for buying, liaising with sales representatives, and maintaining cleanliness while opening, closing, and throughout the operation.
Wine Careers in the Supply Industry
Wine Sales Representative
For wine representatives, the object is simple: sell wine directly to restaurants and wine retailers. Formal education is rarely needed; a Level Three Sommelier certification is usually all that is required to get your foot in the door.
A wine sales position may start in the mid-five figures, but income is earned chiefly through commissions. The take-home salary for a wine rep is typically in the low to mid six figures.
These include introducing stores to our represented wine brands, following up with existing customers regarding wine sales, handling wine delivery to stores, and offering related promotions and wine tastings.
Other Wine Professions
Wine journalists
Most wine journalists write freelance for newspapers, magazines, and wine newsletters. Success in these roles is a function of the journalist’s writing ability and palate capability, combined with the nature and frequency of assignments.
Cooper
Building wine barrels is a highly specialized skill that pays very well. Become a journeyman cooper is a job for someone who loves working with their hands. With the average wine barrel selling at a low four figures, it’s a specialized industry with plenty of profit. The job requires some carpentry proficiency and a fair amount of physical strength.
Wine Educator
This is one of the most rewarding careers in wine. Students looking to join the wine trade forgo a college education and attend a wine school instead. I know several people who gave up their winemaking careers to become wine educators.
The average wine instructor can expect to earn in the high five figures, while someone in a leadership position should earn a salary in the mid-six figures.