Sommelier

The Sommelier is responsible for creating a comfortable yet luxury experience for our guests at The Otesaga Resort Hotel. This position is responsible for all aspects of wine and beverage service in the dining rooms including ambiance, cocktail/beer/wine/non-alcoholic beverage service, as well as food service under the direction of the department head.

Essential Job Functions

To successfully perform this job, an individual must perform each essential duty listed below.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this job.

• Provide on the floor assistance to guests by providing wine and other beverage recommendations, conducting beverage service, and answering relevant questions. 
• Ensure all wine is served in proper glassware and in proper condition.
• Assist with inventory controls and par levels related to beverages, including but not limited to beer, spirits, wine, and non-alcoholic beverages.
• Tastes and evaluates wines and other beverages for potential purchase. 
• Responsible for upkeep of accurate and up to date wine lists.
• Assist with the training of service staff on a variety of beverage topics, including proper service techniques, beverage pairings, and understanding guest preferences.
• Work with appropriate manager to successfully respond to any guest complaints or concerns.
• Adhere to all federal, state, and local alcohol serving laws.   
• Comply with all health, safety, and hygiene standards and policies.
• Assist service staff by taking orders, delivering food, and delivering beverages as needed.
• Assist with front of house closing duties as needed.
• Perform any other job-related duties as assigned.

Education:  High school diploma or general education degree (GED)

Required Experience:

The person in this position needs to:

• Minimum 21 years of age
• Minimum 1 year Sommelier or fine dining experience
• Excellent knowledge of food and beverage pairings
• Excellent knowledge of wine and beverage service procedures
• Reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities

• Robust food knowledge: should be able to articulate flavors and provide detailed descriptions.
• Knowledge of various dietary restrictions
• Ability to accurately describe, recommend and serve beverages of the world
• Possess basic math skills and ability to operate POS system
• Maintain professional presentation (must adhere to company and department dress code)
• Ability to upsell
• Outstanding guest service skills
• Ability to determine wine faults and maintain proper temperatures in order to showcase products at their maximum potential.
• Ability to clearly communicate both verbally and in writing
• Strong knowledge of pricing, budgets, and cost controls

Physical Requirements:

These physical requirements for this position may be accomplished with or without reasonable accommodations.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand, and/or move for extended periods of time (approximately 8 to 10 hours), twist at the neck and trunk, bend at the waist and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee is frequently required to reach with hands and arms, reach overhead, above shoulders and horizontally. Employees will frequently use hands to handle objects and tools and operate service equipment. The employee must regularly lift and/or move/push/pull up to 30 pounds.  The employee will also frequently ascend and descend stairs when moving between the dining rooms and the storage areas.  Vision abilities required by this job include close vision, color vision, and the ability to adjust focus. Employees may use vision to monitor beverage and food quality and quantity. 

Work Conditions: The position will be required to work evening, weekend, and holiday hours. While performing the duties of this job, the employee generally works in an indoor and outdoor front of restaurant and kitchen environment with exposure to heat from ovens, hot foods and steamers and cleaning chemicals, fumes, equipment, and metal objects. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate but may be loud dependent on specific work site and/or equipment operation. The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

This job description should not be interpreted as all-inclusive; it is intended to identify major responsibilities and requirements of the job. The employee in this position may be requested to perform other job-related tasks and responsibilities than those stated above.