Culinary Career Focus: What is a Sommelier?

If you are considering a career in cooking and you are a lover of wine, then working for the position of the Sommelier or the Wine Steward is the best cooking career choice for you. A Sommelier is a trained professional who works in fine restaurants. A Sommelier specializes in all the aspects of serving wine. It is a much more sophisticated role as compared to that of a wine waiter.

A Sommelier has the principal job of procuring and storing wine, handling the wine storage rotation and of providing expert advice about wine to the customers of the restaurant. As a Sommelier, you will also be responsible for the development of wine lists. You will also be in charge of the delivery of the wine service and for the training of the restaurant staff with regards to the wine. A Sommelier will also suggest the pairing of wine along with the different kinds of foods that are served in the restaurant. Thus, to become a Sommelier, you would need to have good knowledge of how different foods complement and combine with different kinds of wine, beer, spirits and other beverages.

As a professional Sommelier, you will be working directly with the patrons of the restaurant, working with the preferences of the customers with regards to taste and budget limitations. You will also be involved in conducting and attending several wine-tasting events which are designed to educate and attract wine lovers the the restaurant. You will thus be in the enviable position of being able to guide, educate and talk to people about wine. As an experienced Sommelier, you will be able to describe the regions, grapes and even the vineyards and vintages of a variety of wines. As a Sommelier, you would also be traveling frequently to different places where wine is produced and would also be involved in the processes of procuring a variety of wines for the restaurant.

To start in this career, you will have to start with an Introductory Sommelier Certificate, and then you can move forward with an Advanced Sommelier Certificate and then a Master Sommelier Diploma. Typically, the salary range offered to Sommeliers will depend on the number of years of experience the candidate has in the field. Sommeliers who are just starting out may expect to earn approximately $28,000 annually as their salary, while Master Sommeliers who have anywhere between 3 to 5 years of experience can earn between $80,000 to $160,000 annually.

Thus, as a Sommelier, you will be in a unique position to combine your knowledge and passion into a productive and impressive career.

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