Working in Wine

I got my first job when I was thirteen, washing glasses at a downtown bar in Salem, Massachusetts. I don’t know why they hired me, as I was the most unlikely candidate for the job: I was a gawky kid from a WASPy family full of pastors and school teachers.

I sure didn’t fit in with the cast of characters who worked at that joint. The angry cooks, the stoner busboys, the saucy waitresses. To me, they were ambassadors from an undiscovered country. And in equal measure, they attracted and repulsed that young and impressionable me.

My love of the food and beverage business has never waned. I am far from a teenager now, and I’ve done nearly every job out there. I have been a dishwasher, chef, waiter, sommelier, beverage distributor, wine broker, cellar rat, winery consultant, cookbook author, wine critic, video producer, ambassador, and university professor.

Don’t be too impressed. I managed to suck and excel at each equally and every one of those jobs. I loved all those jobs, but I never felt I was quiet right for any of them Except for the glass washer gig. No one will ever complain about my glass-washing skills. It took thirty years, but I finally found a job that suits me. I now run a prep school for sommeliers and winemakers in Philadelphia.

Running a wine school probably sounds like a unique wine job, and it is. But here is the rub: there are tens of thousands of unique jobs in this trade. I think the greatest reason to work in the food & booze trade is that you will never have to live a cookie-cutter existence. Every day is interesting. It’s a multi-billion dollar economy based on individuality, hard work, and creativity. That is pretty awesome.

In this series of articles, I will be writing about the many careers available in our trade. It is my hope that I can give the reader gains some insight into some of the possibilities available to you. I also hope you learn from some of my mistakes, as well.