job description

I am currently the wine steward at a grocery store in Shoreline, Washington. I started here in the seafood department in March of 2002, and moved to the wine department two years later.

My most important responsibility is to first and foremost to take care of the customers, for ultimately they are the reason why I have the job that I do. I also have to deal with wine and beer representatives from different companies, and talk to them about bringing in new products, as well as re-ordering popular products. Making sure the department is in order and is clean is also a very important responsibility: You'd be surprised what some customers will notice. If our place is dirty and unkempt, some people would rather go somewhere else, so being clean helps to bring in customers. Marketing is also crucial, so people know when sales or promotions are going on. My favorite responsibility, though, is going to wine and beer tastings. We go to tastings to broaden our palette and to educate ourselves in order to help our customers when they come in and want to know about a specific wine or type of wine. It's fun to go and taste new wines and beers, and also be able to share your new knowledge.

This is a very good company to work at for a multitude of reasons. First off, the amount and presence of corporate control is not nearly as high as it is with other grocery store companies. They also allow their employees to have direct input when it comes to marketing decisions in their specific departments, which is great because your ideas are actually heard and applied, as opposed to being ignored or brushed aside. I also really like the personal feeling that I get when I work with customers, which is something that isn't normally seen or experienced at most large chain grocery stores. The benefits here are also really great, which is a very nice perk.

education & career path

I started in the grocery business in 1982 in Seattle. I worked at my first store for twenty years, working my way up through the rankings and eventually becoming an assistant manager there. After working there for nearly two decades, I left there and took a job here, in the seafood department. Being the manager of the seafood department, I was required to take a learning and leadership class. Every time I went to that class, I commuted there with the manager of the wine department. When a position for wine steward opened, he was the one who suggested I apply to the wine department. I thought it would be a lot of fun, because I had gone to many wineries over the years, and though it would be great to expand my knowledge. I applied for the position, but unfortunately my health began to decline at the same time, and the original manager who had encouraged me to apply had moved to another store location. The new manager, however, reviewed my application, and being that I had extensive grocery store experience and had been with the company for two years, he gave me the position. I was very excited to accept the wine steward position.

No special training or professional degrees are needed. Basically, anyone can be a wine steward if they really have an interest and passion for wine. Some people do study to become master wine tasters, which takes longer and does require special training, but the average Joe can do what I do. Most of my training was on-the-job, with the help of my co-worker, Steve. As a wine steward, you need to know the different wine regions, as well as where the grapes grow, and it's hard to memorize and learn everything on your own. I am very thankful to have had Steve's help in learning everything that I know now.

I really loved it. I felt full of anticipation and was very excited to begin learning the ins and outs of the wine industry. To this day, I still love it: I love learning and meeting new people every day, as well as learning more about the wine business. Someday, I hope to learn more about grape growing and also more about vineyards.

my day

I usually work five days a week for seven to eight hours per day. My shifts are usually from late morning to early evening. When I get to work, I go in and talk to my manager to discuss my tasks for the day. I then consult with my co-worker, Steve, to see what he is doing, as well as to talk to him about any new products that are out. When beer or wine representatives come in, I will talk to them about getting more products in, as well as re-order products when necessary. In talking with them, I plan my strategy for the week: what wines to order, the theme for the beer department (for example, if it's the holiday season, then holiday-themed beers would be the theme), as well as where to move stock. While dealing with all this, I am also helping customers with what they need. If anything breaks or falls, I have to clean that up too, which actually doesn't happen as often as one might think, considering all the glass bottles I work around. My favorite part of the day is talking to all the customers and helping them find what they need. I think that our store is different from others in that we don't treat our customers like they are ignorant. A lot of people come into the wine department of a store and can feel intimidated because they don't know anything about wine or are afraid to ask. The feeling is further perpetuated when the wine steward treats them like they are ignorant, instead of helping them to understand more about wine. I feel that our store does not treat customers in this way, which is why I like helping people find what they are looking for.

Some days you help a lot of customers, others you make signs and do marketing. Other days are devoted solely to building beer or wine displays. I would say that the variety isn't extreme, but the job definitely isn't ever really boring, for you're always dealing with new and different customers and people.

The atmosphere at work is kind of stuffy at times, just because there is so much that is going on all at once. I like to think that I bring a lighter mood to things though when stress levels are elevated. As far as co-workers and managers, I only work with one co-worker and my manager. My manager is relatively new, so I am still getting to know him and how he works, but he seems to be very driven and wants to see the department go in a positive direction, which is ultimately what's important. As far as my co-worker Steve, we get along very well. We've been working together for awhile, and I think that when you've been working with someone for a certain amount of time, the positives of that person outweigh the negatives. That's how it is with Steve. The fact that he taught me a lot of what I know about the wine business also makes him an influential person in my life, as well as a great person to work with.

salary & lifestyle

I guess you could say that being a wine steward gives me more knowledge than the average person about wine and beer. It does help, because it's easier for me to talk to people about wine in my personal life and to make them become my customers. I wouldn't go so far as to say that it has a huge affect positively or negatively, but my job does make it easier to bring customers into the store. I do have a girlfriend, and she likes it when I buy her nice wine, which is a perk to my personal life. The biggest drawback though, would have to be the hours that I work: late morning to early evening. This is usually the time when I could do errands or spend time with people that I care about, but working at these times makes that difficult. Working weekends is also not too fun, but on my days off, I am completely off, and don't have to deal with any work.

Because I work for a retail store as well as a union, I make an hourly wage, which averages out to about $20-$22 per hour. It's comparable with other companies, although we are one of the highest paying companies in the industry. If I were a beer or wine distributor though, I would get a commission for the wine or beer that I sold, as well as a base salary. Although I do not get a set salary, my benefits are great because I work for a union. I also get double to triple time on Sundays, as well as a sufficient amount of overtime, so I don't really mind not having a fixed salary.

Experience, both in the workplace as well as in life, is definitely a consideration. When I started in the wine department, I was making approximately $15 per hour. The fact that I had previous grocery experience helped in getting me a higher wage, but now that I've been there for two years and have taken a lot of initiative in helping the department move in a more positive direction, my hourly pay has obviously increased. Something I hope will change in the future though is the presence of continuing education. Currently, no continuing education is required to maintain the position as a wine steward, with the exception of going on tastings. Tastings, however, are not required, just highly recommended. I think that if continuing education was required, it would make us as employees more educated, and therefore enable us to better educate the customers.

pros, cons & trends

There are many positive aspects to being a wine steward. I like going to wine and beer tastings. It's really exciting to be able to taste different things, and to learn more about wine regions and specific types of wines and beers. I love the people I work with as well, which are very important and make my job extremely enjoyable. The best part of my job, though, is meeting and helping new customers. I truly love helping people find the best wine or beer for them, and making their experience at the wine department an educational and happy one is why I do the job that I do. It's something that I could continue to do for quite a long time because of this aspect of it: It makes it fulfilling to know that I am doing something that will help another.

The most frustrating part of this job would have to be upper management. A lot of times they are too busy to listen to what you have to say, and it can be a little discouraging when you have a great idea that you feel should be implemented. When they try to be too controlling when it comes to marketing, it is annoying as well, because a lot of times someone might have a great idea that is being stifled. The hours that I work are also a con to the job: because I work late morning to early evening, everything that I could do as far as errands is closed after I get off of work, and all the people that I hang out with get off work earlier than I do, so it can be a little annoying. But I wouldn't say that there are a lot of negatives with this job. Overall the positives outweigh the negatives.

Being a wine steward is a relatively stable job in that most grocery stores usually need someone in the wine department. I feel secure to the point of being able to come in and do my job everyday without fear of being laid off or let go. I feel valuable. Like any other job, it has its frustrations, but overall I am very satisfied with my job.

advice

I would recommend having a very good memory, for it's needed for memorizing all the different types of wines. Being good at geography is also very important because as a wine steward, you'll need to know the different regions where wine is as well as where the best wines are made. Educating your palette to different tastes of wines and beers is also something that you must be willing to do and explore. It's the only way really to become a good wine or beer steward. It's also important to be able to read people, because some you will find want to be helped and some would rather just look by themselves. Learning to decipher between good and bad beer and wine vendors—I call them quality vs. quantity vendors—is also something that, with time, you learn, but it all comes back to learning how to read people. Marketing techniques are also an important thing to learn, as are organizational skills: No matter what field you get in to, these skills are crucial to know.

The wine industry is a growing business, and every year it seems that sales continue to increase. It's also a great excuse to go to France, Italy, Spain, Chile and every other wine area in the world, simply to gain world experience and to broaden your wine knowledge. It's a good career for a lot of people, especially those who are already interested in wine or if you're interested in opening up a specialty wine shop, which seems to be a growing trend these days. If you can sell though, you will do very well in this career. If you can be a seller who isn't pushy like a used car salesman, then the potential to be successful is very high in this field. Also, to just have the passion and the drive to be in the industry will get you very far.