Sommelier
A sommelier advises diners on wine and matches bottles to their food, drawing on a trained palate and detailed knowledge of the venue's cellar.
- Median salary*
- $54,600
4.0%vs last year, before tax
- People employed
- 1,600
0.0%vs last year
- Projected growth*
- +3.2%
to 2035
- AI exposure*
- Low
- automation risk
- Average hours*
- 42/wk
+2h vs all jobs
- Shortage status*
- Not in shortage
national
Sommeliers work in fine dining restaurants, hotels and wine bars, where they build and manage a wine list rather than simply pour what's ordered. What separates the role from general waitstaff is the trained palate and the formal study behind it, usually through Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) courses or the Court of Master Sommeliers. In smaller venues one person covers both the floor and the cellar, while larger restaurants split the work across a head sommelier and assistants.
How much do sommeliers earn?
The median full-time salary for a sommelier is $54,600 per annum, before tax, up $11,400 since 2018.
Most sommeliers are paid under the Hospitality Industry (General) Award or a venue's enterprise agreement, so the venue has more influence on pay than the job title does. Hatted restaurants, five-star hotels and large wine groups tend to pay above the award, and a head sommelier running a big list and a team earns more than an assistant. Certifications such as WSET Level 3 or a Court of Master Sommeliers credential help at the top end of the market.
What does a sommelier do day to day?
The list below is what fills most weeks; the exact mix shifts with seniority and whatever stage the current work is at.
- Walking the floor and reading a table well enough to recommend a bottle that suits the food and the budget
- Decanting and serving at the table, matching glassware and temperature to the wine
- Tasting new arrivals against notes and memory to judge whether they earn a place on the list
- Rebuilding and repricing the list as vintages sell out, arrive or fall out of favour
- Tracking deliveries, storage conditions and stock levels in the cellar between services
What skills do sommeliers need?
Employers look for selling and negotiation, product management, backed by wine POS systems fluency and strong client relationships and advisory.
Specialist skills
- Selling and negotiation
- Product management
Software and tools
- wine POS systems
- temperature-controlled cellars
- wine tasting glasses
- inventory management software
- wine education certifications
General skills
- Client relationships and advisory
- Written communication
- Stakeholder management
- Customer service
- Problem solving
Is the job growing?
About 1,600 people work as sommeliers in Australia, and employment is projected to grow 3.2% over the decade to 2035. That's modest growth: demand is steady rather than booming.
How do you become a sommelier?
Here's the path most sommeliers take, step by step.
- 1Get service experience in a venue with a serious wine list
Most sommeliers start as waiters or bar staff in a restaurant, hotel or wine bar that sells wine by the bottle as well as the glass. This job pays while you learn service, glassware, food timing and how a list is organised, and it is where most people first taste widely.
- 2Study wine formally
WSET Level 2 or 3 and the Court of Master Sommeliers introductory course are the qualifications Australian employers recognise most. Study is usually self-funded and fitted around shifts, and Level 3 involves tasting and theory exams that take several months of preparation.
- 3Add a hospitality qualification if you want the operations side
A TAFE Certificate III or IV in Hospitality covers service, food safety and venue operations. It supports the management side of the work, though wine-specific study is what develops the palate and the list knowledge.
- 4Take on cellar and list responsibility
Assisting a head sommelier with deliveries, stock counts, staff tastings and sections of the list is the usual step from the floor into the cellar, and it is what a resume needs before applying for a sommelier title.
- 5Move to head sommelier roles in larger venues
Head sommelier positions sit in restaurants with substantial cellars, luxury hotels and wine-focused groups, and they usually go to people with several years of list and stock responsibility behind them rather than a certificate alone.
Ready to apply as a sommelier?
Whether you're working toward becoming a sommelier or already are one and want a hand with the next step (sharpening your resume for ATS screening, tightening your cover letter, or knowing what you'll actually be asked at interview), here are examples grounded in this specific role, not generic templates.
What jobs can a sommelier move to?
Moving into Account Director typically comes with the biggest pay rise, worth $41,600 a year more on average.
| Move to | Typical pay change | Overlap | Retraining |
|---|---|---|---|
| Account Director Senior wine sales roles draw on the sommelier's cellar knowledge and ability to advise premium clients. | +$41,600 | 47% | short course |
| Hotel Manager Hotel management uses hospitality knowledge, but requires broader operational and financial retraining. | +$40,400 | 19% | reskill |
| Sales Representative A sommelier's palate and product knowledge transfer directly to selling wine and spirits to trade customers. | +$33,400 | 47% | short course |
| Key Account Manager Managing restaurant and retail accounts uses the sommelier's relationship skills and wine expertise to grow sales. | +$32,800 | 47% | short course |
| Restaurant Manager Running a restaurant builds on the sommelier's floor experience, though management training is needed. | +$30,900 | 9% | reskill |
Moves are chosen from Jobs and Skills Australia's Data on Occupation Mobility, which follows income tax records between 2011-12 and 2020-21, together with entry requirements and skill overlap. A known move is one people were seen making in that data. Pay change compares median full-time pay for the two roles.
Who works as a sommelier?
The typical sommelier is 23 years old; 67% are women, 19% work full-time, and full-timers average 42 hours a week.
- 23
- Median age
- 67%
- Female share
- 19%
- Full-time
- +2h
- vs all-jobs avg
What's it like being a sommelier?
The job runs on service, so evenings, weekends and public holidays are the busiest times, and a sommelier carries two roles at once: host on the floor and keeper of the cellar. Ordering, tasting, repricing and stock control happen between services, often in the quiet hours before a shift. It suits someone who enjoys both halves, the performance of the floor and the patient record-keeping behind it, and who is willing to keep studying wine for years.
What people like
- Your palate becomes a real skill. Tasting constantly, in a structured way, builds a memory you can call on to place a wine and judge whether it suits the dish in front of you.
- You teach rather than pour. Explaining a wine well, to a guest deciding on one bottle or to the floor team before service, is a large part of the satisfaction of the job.
- The list is yours to shape. Choosing what to stock, including small producers nobody else in the city carries, is the creative side that keeps people in the role.
- You work alongside people who care about the same thing. Rooms with a serious wine program tend to attract staff who want to taste and talk about it, which makes long shifts easier.
What people find hard
- The hours fall when everyone else is free. A full-time week averages 42 hours, and most of them land on nights, weekends and public holidays, which is hard on family and social life.
- Paperwork and cellar routine never stop. Deliveries, invoices, temperature logs, stock counts and repricing are constant, and they sit behind the visible part of the job.
- Guests with firm ideas about wine. Recommending against a guest's plan, or working within a fixed budget, takes diplomacy, and not every table wants advice.
- Study does not finish. Exams, tasting practice and course fees continue for years, and the higher qualifications are demanding and mostly self-funded.
Based on our synthesis of professional-body surveys and public accounts of the role, not first-person verified reviews.
Which industries employ sommeliers?
Accommodation (Hotels & Resorts) employs the largest share of sommeliers, followed by Food & Beverage Service.
Top employing industries
- 1Accommodation (Hotels & Resorts)
- 2Food & Beverage Service
- 3Events & Conference Services
- 4Restaurants & Bars
Ranked by employment share; the source doesn't publish an exact percentage per industry.
| Bachelor degree | 38% | |
|---|---|---|
| Diploma / Advanced Diploma | 24% | |
| Certificate III/IV | 20% | |
| Postgraduate | 10% | |
| Other | 8% |
Will AI replace sommeliers?
AI exposure here is low, because the core of the job happens in the room: tasting a wine, matching it to a dish and advising a guest who is deciding now. Technology has settled into the administrative half, with cellar inventory and ordering systems that track stock and flag slow sellers. That changes how the list is managed and priced, not who chooses it.
Share of typical working time by exposure level
- Recommending and serving wine at the tableReading a guest's budget and taste, then opening and decanting the bottle, is done in person and in the moment.35%low
- Training staff and running tastingsTeaching the floor team to describe a wine and sell it needs someone in the room with a glass in hand.30%low
- Building and pricing the wine listSales data can suggest price points and flag slow sellers, but the call on which producers and vintages to back remains the sommelier's.20%moderate
- Cellar stock control and orderingInventory software already tracks levels and drafts orders, though tasting each new arrival before it reaches the list is still manual.15%high
Common questions about becoming a sommelier
Straight answers to the questions people ask most.
How much do sommeliers earn?
$54,600 per year before tax is the median for full-time sommeliers. The venue has a large say: a head sommelier at a hatted restaurant or a luxury hotel group usually earns more than an assistant in a small wine bar.
How do you become a sommelier?
There is no licence to practise, so you build wine knowledge and service experience and let employers judge both. WSET or Court of Master Sommeliers study plus several years on a restaurant floor is the standard path, and many people get there from waiting or bar work.
Are sommeliers in demand?
Sommeliers are currently not in shortage, and employment is projected to grow 3.2% over the decade to 2035. About 1,600 people work in the role, so openings are concentrated in fine dining, hotels and wine-focused bars rather than spread across hospitality generally.
Will AI replace sommeliers?
Most of the job sits outside what AI does well, which is tasting, reading a table and advising a guest in person. Software helps with cellar inventory, ordering and list pricing, but the judgement about what is worth listing stays with the sommelier.
What careers can a sommelier move into?
Wine sales is the most direct move, because the palate and product knowledge transfer to selling to trade customers. Roles like sales representative ($33,400 more), key account manager ($32,800 more) and restaurant manager ($30,900 more) each build on different parts of the job, from relationships to running a floor.
Do sommeliers drink the wine they taste?
They taste and spit, so the job is not about consumption. Formal tasting sessions and service pours are judged on aroma, balance and structure, and a sommelier who does not drink alcohol can still do the work.
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