How To Become A Head Sommelier
A Head Sommelier is a wine expert who helps hotel and restaurant guests know which wine to choose with their meal.
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Learn more about becoming a Head Sommelier
The role of Head Sommelier combines the need for both expert knowledge of wine, and top-tier leadership skills.
From creating the wine list to managing stock, a head sommelier will oversee these processes and many more from start to finish.
How much money can you earn as a Head Sommelier?
These LMI Job Trends give you a sneak peek of how much you could earn starting out for this career, and how much your salary could grow with experience.
Salary guide for Head Sommelier jobs
A common salary bracket for a Head Sommelier can be from £40,000 to £55,000. Many employers will also offer a benefits package that may include perks such as staff meals, wellbeing programmes, recommend a friend bonus schemes, training programmes, private medical insurance, and social events.
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Skills you need to become a Head Sommelier
Useful skills to put in your CV:
- Deeply authentic and personal passion for wine, and the rich history and culture intertwined with it.
- A strong drive to consistently deliver the perfect pairing to each customer, sympathetic to their tastes and the food being served.
- An incredible sense of organisation in order to efficiently handle large amounts of stock and balance this with other elements of work.
- A supportive and encouraging management style, enabling your colleagues to do their best in their roles.
Top Skills-boosting Tips
You will probably go on wine courses yourself so that you know as much about wines as possible.
How Do You Get These Skills?
Vocational qualifications and work experience will help you build these skills over time.
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What Qualifications & Training Do You Need For Head Sommelier Careers?
School, College And Training
You can’t become a Head Sommelier as a school leaver – you need training and experience first! Of course, you can also apply for hospitality roles to see if the world of hospitality is for you, then start your wine training while already working in hospitality.
Previous experience in similar roles and a deep, authentic, passion for wine are the most common desirables in candidates for the job of Head Sommelier.
Hospitality Apprenticeships
If you want to get straight into a role and don’t have directly relevant qualifications or experience, you can train on the job and earn money at the same time by taking an apprenticeship in hospitality.
These are available at different levels. After gaining some experience you could take the:
- Level 1/2 Hospitality NVQ/SVQ
- Level 3 Hospitality supervisor advanced apprenticeship
- Level 4 Hospitality manager higher apprenticeship
Useful qualifications include:
- WSET Levels 1-3
- WSET Level 4 Diploma
- Court of Master Sommeliers qualifications
Once you are ready, the GOV.UK Find an Apprenticeship service can help you to find suitable positions.
What experience do you need to be a Head Sommelier?
Ideally, a successful candidate would have one or a combination of the following experience:
- Previous experience as a head sommelier.
- Significant experience in a sommelier role, a minimum of 2 years or more.
- Experience at length in a role with an appropriate level of seniority, such as a head wine buyer.
- Considerable experience in wine-tasting or winemaking would be advantageous.
Who Can Help?
Many professional bodies also offer a range of training opportunities, including activities that count towards continuing professional development (CPD). Find out more below:
- Hospitality Guild – lists training courses including college-based qualifications and apprenticeships, regulation and licensing courses, and CPD options.
- Institute of Hospitality – offers a range of hospitality-related qualifications, professional development workshops, webinars, online courses and networking events.
- UKHospitality – hosts various events across the year and provides publications and resources for members.
Career Progression
With time and experience, you can move in different directions – for example, you could become a head wine buyer, and focus on the sales side of wine, rather than the hospitality side of helping guests.
As a Head Sommelier, you are already at the top of your game – and in the role because you love honing your skills as a wine expert!
What Does A Head Sommelier Do?
Example daily job responsibilities
- Maintain ownership over researching and composing a wine list that compliments the menu.
- Handling the buying process.
- Lead cellar stock management.
- Providing any necessary wine service training to other sommeliers and Front of House staff.
- Managing other members of the sommelier team.
- Organising any wine tasting events.
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How To Find Head Sommelier Jobs: Next Steps
To find jobs for young people in this role, search on job boards for jobs with these words like these in the title:
- Hospitality apprenticeships
- Hospitality graduate schemes
You can also take a look at our database of local opportunities to see if there are any relevant jobs, work placements, or careers events and workshops to help you get started.
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These employers and organisations are here to help. They care about your potential and desire to learn, not just your qualifications and experience. They may be able to offer traineeships, apprenticeships, graduate schemes, first jobs, careers advice, wellbeing support and much more.
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