Pinotblogger: the Capozzi Winery blog

Over at Ask Metafilter, a very cool question and answer site that takes advantage of “the hive mind”, someone asked about breaking into the wine industry. I thought the ensuing discussion was great and I’ve excerpted some of it below. I encourage you to read the whole thing if “breaking in” interests you, and then check out the job posting linked at the end of this post.

I love wine, and I’d like to get involved in the wine industry. The question is, how do I go about making that a reality - how do I “break in”?

As I said, there were a few really good answers from people on both the sales and production side. Interestingly, the best responses came from people who no longer work in the industry. I’m not quite sure what that means, but here’s some interesting intel from the sales side:

Working in the wine trade on the retail or wholesale (as opposed to winery) side is very guild-like. There is a clear path of apprenticeship that culminates in being a top salesperson for a major importer or distributor (incomes exceeding $250K are common) or owning your own shop (bankruptcy is common). You travel a lot, spend a lot of nights eating out, and deal with a lot of alcoholism among colleagues (lesson one: learn to spit gracefully, early; when you are drunk all wine tastes the same). Your natural clock should be tuned toward evenings and nights. You should be the kind of person who can take off the tie and the jacket and help the staff load in 50 cases of Freixenet through the basement the day before Thanksgiving, put the suit back on and go upstairs and help peddle the Bollinger RD to the rich folks, while selling the Black Opal Shiraz with just as much enthusiasm to someone who finds $8.99 a stretch, and be very quick with numbers (especially multiples of 12). Wine folks tend to be, image aside, fairly gonzo people, and partying is part of the job.

To break in, people recommend getting a job in a winery tasting room or boutique wine shop in a large metro area to acquire sales experience. I can verify that this path works well. I have a friend who is rising up through Southern Wine and Spirits who took just such a route. Nothing beats being a natural salesperson though. As the commenter says, if you can sell there’s a future for you in wine.

Another commenter, a V&E grad from Davis, talks about the production side of the industry. Interestingly, he says he got out because of low pay and tripled his income after leaving the wine industry. How’s that for glamorous?

As far as getting into it. I studied Fermentation Science at the University of California at Davis. There were quite a few people in the program who were going back to school to start a second career after hating accounting, business, whatever. It’s a good way to get a foundation of why things might work, will get you a foot in the door, but is no replacement for experience. I’ve seen too many people coming out of school thinking that since they had a degree that they were the greatest winemakers in the world. That’s one route if you’re interested in the production end. You could also just take the plunge and start as a cellar rat at a good winery. If you show an interest people will help you learn.

He’s right on about experience being more important than training. And most wine folks are amazingly generous with their knowledge and time. The whole lack-of-cash thing is a big drawback though.

Feel like giving it a shot?

If you are interested in jumping in as a cellar rat at a great winery, Rudd is currently looking for a passionate candidate.

For someone who wants cellar experience this is a dream job. Duties are diverse, focusing in the winery and barrel caves. Duties include: sorting and crushing fruit, cleaning tanks and other equipment, barrel preparation, barrel filling, tank rackings, tank additions, red wine pump-overs.

With little to no production experience needed (and I’m sure the pay will be commensurate) this is a great opportunity to break in on the production side. Drop me a line if you do apply, or why not start a blog so others can follow your progress? I could use a start up buddy!