Sommeliers
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Job description
These individuals advise customers on wines, alcohol, and spirits. They recommend wines based on their tastes, budget, and food choices. They organize and manage the storage of alcohol products and prepare orders. They work for:
- Restaurants
- Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ [Quebec Alcohol Corporation]) stores
- Wine agencies
- Hotels
- Reception venues and caterers
- Inns
- Shipping lines
Environment
- Controlled ambient temperature
- Odours
- Noise
- Fire, steam, hot surfaces
Main tasks
- Greet clients, open bottles, and let them sample alcoholic beverages.
- Serve clients and collect the amounts due.
- Perform a sensory evaluation of wines.
- List the vintages.
- Make changes to the wine, spirits, and beer lists.
- Order bottles and glassware, as required.
- Supervise bartenders and wine stewards.
Advancement and mobility
- Experience may lead to supervisory positions.
Training and requirements
Formation
No specific training
Also required
- Be at least 18 years of age.
Sometimes required
- Experience in the restaurant industry considered an asset.
- Training in wine selection and service or experience as a formal service waiter may be required.
- A secondary school diploma may be required.
Main skills and characteristics
Skills
- Service oriented
- Data collection
- Active listening
- Oral expression
- Coordination
- Social perception
- Active learning
- Result evaluation
- Quality control analysis
- Human resource management
- Persuasion
- Material resource management
Abilities
- Speech clarity
- Auditory attention
- Selective attention
- Memorization
- Verbal skills
- Oral comprehension
- Limb coordination
- Overall coordination of the body
- Manual dexterity
- Basic numeracy
- Spatial orientation
- Perception speed
- Colour perception and distinction
- Hand-arm stability
- Dynamic physical flexibility
- Reaction time
- Wrist-finger speed
- Response orientation
- Near vision
- Information processing speed
- Speech recognition
Knowledge and attributes
- Capacity to work under pressure
- Spoken and written bilingualism (French and English)
- Knowledge of customer and personalized services
- Capacity to work in a team
- Sense of initiative
- Vitality
- Friendliness
- Sense of observation
- Availability
- Impeccable appearance
- Timeliness
Interests
- Draft, communicate, and inform
- Work in sales or client service
- Work in hotels, restaurants, and tourism
- Work manually
- Assist and advise
Personality profiles (RIASEC)
- Social
- People with this profile prefer to be in contact with others, in particular to entertain, help or teach them.
- Enterprising
- People with this profile prefer having responsibilities, influencing others and responding to challenges.
- Realistic
- People with this profile prefer carrying out concrete tasks and being physically involved in what they do.
Appellation d’emploi liée (à traduire)
Food and beverage servers (CNP 65200)
Skill type
Sales and service
Last update: January 29, 2026
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