I work in a fine dining restaurant, so every day looks different.

To start, I meet with sales representatives of beverage distribution companies to taste wine and spirits and talk about new products coming to market. I work on developing new concepts and finding products that are both tasty and ethically sound. There are also some office tasks associated with the job – I use a graphic design program to make sure wine lists and cocktail and beer menus are all up to date, and accounting software to do inventory and input invoices.

Later in the day, service staff arrives and we set up the dining room, taste more wine, go over any special details, and then dinner service begins.

During dinner service, I spend a lot of time helping guests choose the right wine, performing bottle service at tables, and helping the bar staff and wait staff. My job involves a lot of fun, social, personal interactions with staff, customers, and alcohol sales reps. I also get to taste a LOT of wines (upwards of 2000 wines a year) and read a lot about wine, beer, and spirits.

Pros

My favorite parts of my job center around making great experiences happen – an anniversary, a birthday, or a special dinner can be some of the most memorable life experiences we have, and being able to create that for someone feels amazing. I also love being able to taste wine and educate myself about wine. I even get to travel to go on wine tasting trips and go out to special dinners and events across the United States!

Cons

The most challenging part of my job is the hours. Sometimes I work long days that stretch into long nights, and this industry is not built for taking breaks or having much downtime. If you have a spouse on a regular 9 to 5 schedule, or small kids, it can be very challenging to stay in this industry long-term because the schedule is the opposite of a normal work week, we typically work nights and weekends.