How I Got In the Wine Business — and How You Can
By Tom Wark
There is a certain type of wine lover for whom the simple enjoyment of the beverage just isnt enough. They need to be closer to the wine. They want to work in the wine business. For the fortunate ones, this means buying their way in by purchasing a vineyard, a winery or other wine-related business. Most of us dont have such means. Instead, we enter on the bottom rung and work our way up, appreciating along the way the benefits that come with working in an industry devoted to delivering hedonism.
I was one of those people — sort of. Upon getting my Masters in History from a State University in California, I realized it was time to get a real job. With no particular career in mind, I looked at the skills Id acquired though my education and previous work experience. It all pointed toward marketing.
Public relations looked interesting to me. But I quickly realized that there were all sorts of PR firms, many of which specialized in certain industries: real estate, technology, entertainment — and WINE.
Id never worked in PR, but understanding the necessary talents wasnt a difficult chore: write, sell, and communicate. I put together some faux press releases and newsletters (using a dot matrix printer), got the resume together, took down some recommendations from professors and friends and went about my search for a job in wine PR.
1. I read every wine magazine I could find to learn the issues swirling in the industry.
2. I put together a complete packet of info demonstrating how I would help my potential employer make money off me.
3. I spoke with a dozen people in wine PR, marketing and wine writing to discover more about the field of wine PR.
4. I sent out 100 letters and resumes to PR Firms and wineries.
5. I made the search for the right position a full-time job.
I interviewed with seven wineries and two PR firms. Two wineries offered me work in their tasting room. One offered me a position as a marketing assistant.” One wine PR firm offered me a part-time job. I took the part-time job. That turned into a full-time associate position within two months. Four years later I left and opened .
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW IF YOU WANT TO
GET INTO THE WINE INDUSTRY
Today the industry is booming (well, at least moving forward steadily). Whats in demand now are sales types — people who can sell wine. Tasting-room personnel are also in demand. Both these types of entry-level positions can be great starting points for advancement IF you really learn all you can about how the wine industry works from grapes to retail sales and IF you are a good salesperson willing to work to make money for your company.
Distributorships and wholesalers are the best places for those with good sales skills to start. The money can be good if you can sell. Starting here allows you the space to move upward toward a manager position in the distribution side of the business, into a buyer position on the retail or restaurant side or to the winery side where you will likely work in a marketing position or regional sales director position.
The most difficult areas of the wine industry to break into (and make a living) are wine writing and human resources; both these areas demand substantial previous accomplishment. One field that is broadening in the wine industry is Internet/computer technology as direct sales, compliance and the general deployment of technology into the industry increases.
Retail and restaurant-related wine positions are two other potential areas for breaking into the wine industry. They come with considerable dues-paying before you get to a level where you can make a very good living in them. Retail sales in a wine shop is a terrific place to really broaden your knowledge of wine. Great retail sales types are few and far between. Its a matter of developing a deep knowledge of wine across regions, understanding customer services and being, again, a good salesperson.
I highly recommend the wine industry as a profession for one main reason: its a pleasure industry. That is, the wine business is about bringing pleasure to the end user. In order to appreciate this, you have to be an end user yourself and really enjoy the pleasure that wine can bring. In addition to this, the wine industry has an ancient history that touches on culture, economics and world history that can be very satisfying to anyone with interests in those areas.
And finally, the perks are good.
Here are some right now.
I’m one of those sick folks who enjoys retail. It’s nearly impossible to make good money in retail, but you meet a glorious range of wine nuts. I love it. Some of the kindest and most interesting people I’ve ever met have been through wine.