A quick note about us: For over 25 years we have been serving guests local wine country cuisine while growing our customer relationships in our wine merchant in the heart of Santa Barbara wine country. As both a wine store and a restaurant we are in a unique position to educate, share, and expose our wine selection to a vast audience. A recipient of Wine Spectator’s ‘Best of’ award since 2012 (Aka two goblets, aka double gobbler), our Wine Merchant offers approximately 500 selections focusing on the California Central Coast wines, supplemented by benchmark, allocated, and aged selections from throughout the country and world. Our menu highlights our 4-acre organic farm, and the wine list features sustainable producers, at the very least. A safe and respectful work place.

The job: Sommelier/Merchant Associate: Mon-Fri, full time. $18-20/hr, plus tips
Assist guests in the wine shop and on the restaurant floor
Assist service on the floor: bottle service, polishing, bussing as needed, staff education
Communicate through email with customers regarding orders
Assist the merchant operations: intaking wine, keeping shelves stocked and clean. Building, processing, and packing online orders. Signing clients up and assisting in processing quarterly wine club.
3-person team: you, one part-timer, and me. We protect the integrity of the wine program and bring our knowledge and professionalism to the restaurant.
Access to wine tasting, education, and discounted wines

You:
Passionate about wine, hospitality, dining, and learning
Ability to prioritize in busy settings
Driven
Disciplined
Reliable
Self-motivated
Comfortable communicating with guests and co-workers both verbally and in writing
Thorough
Punctual
Knowledgeable about Central Coast wines
Humble

This is a great opportunity for someone who may want to transition from a tasting room or retail role into Somm’ing. If you are passionate about wine and learning, you can learn how to work the floor and sell wine. For more experienced Somms, this is also a great chance to be exposed to many facets of the wine world; retail, floor service, a wine club, an online store, writing opportunities, social media promotions, winemaker dinners, catering events, etc.

My background working in Michelin star and Grand Award programs is in international wines, and I am bringing that balance and sense of place in the greater wine world/inspiration to this program. The focus will always be Central Coast, and we will be experts on that, but I suspect there are few other places in the tri-county area that you will get to try as many benchmark international wines.

95% of the wines on the list I taste; you will get many opportunities to join. I. Pull. Corks. Even if it means me spending my own money so we can taste that $100 bottle of Burgundy or vintage Champagne. I am pushing every day to continue and expand the legacy of this wine program. This is an incredibly unique opportunity, and just the start of something that is going to be special. There is room for advancement. If that is something you would be interested in contributing to, email your resume to wine@winemerchantcafe.com . A tipped position.