Wine Steward

Wine stewards serve wine and drinks to customers in hotel lounges, bars and in restaurant dining rooms.

The main responsibility of wine stewards is to establish what clients want to drink and to serve them accordingly. It is important that all drinks are served in the correct manner.

The level of responsibility in steward duties differs from one establishment to another. In more up-market establishments, wine steward are responsible for selecting, obtaining, storing, controlling and replenishing the stock of wines.

These wine stewards will also discuss wines with clients and assist them in making their selection.

Some satisfying aspects of this career include:

working with people
being knowledgeable about wines
receiving good tips for excellent service

Some demanding aspects may include:

being on your feet for many hours
limited prospects for promotion
dealing with difficult or demanding customers
waiting on large tables, or a number of tables at the same time
irregular and sometimes very long working hours

Personal Requirements

friendly and have a pleasant personality
enjoy meeting all kinds of people
patient, diplomatic and even-tempered
neat appearance
good knowledge of wines
able to take orders accurately
able to stand for hours at a time
good memory

How to Enter

Schooling & School Subjects

No specific requirements

What to Study

Wine stewards learn the required skills by on-the-job training. Short courses are offered by the Hospitality Industries’ Training Board. Wine stewards in upmarket establishments need to attend wine courses on a regular basis to keep up to date on product knowledge.

Employment

restaurants and cafeterias
steakhouses
hotel dining rooms
private clubs
other establishments that serve drinks
casinos
self-employment, given enough experience, initiative and capital, could start own business, such as a wine bar

Further Information

Wines of South Africa
Trumali House
Corner of R44 and Trumali Street
Tel: (021) 883-3860
www.wosa.co.za

Getting Started