The wine industry employed 47,684 people in 2021, and statistics show that it has seen an exponential growth. It is expected to surpass $420 billion in revenue worldwide this year, and more than $528 billion in gross sales by 2025. With the future looking promising, the industry offers lucrative career options. Well-known sommelier Paolo Basso offers a glimpse into his world.
“As a sommelier, some of the basic things you should know to stay ahead of the curve are: be curious, attentive to details, and lucid about the good processes of fabrication, storage, sales, and so on. Wine cannot be made everywhere or just anyhow. It is a perishable and natural product that requires lots of care. Creativity should be encouraged, but the basics should be duly respected,” he begins.
As a sommelier
Wine is a beverage that consumers should adapt to, explains Basso, as it is an ambassador of the region it is produced in. He began his career in gourmet restaurants, which he says, is a common path for most sommeliers. “But my entrepreneurial journey began in 2007 with the creation of my own wine production, trade and consultancy company. I now produce five different wines in Ticino, Switzerland. Since 2014, I select wines for Air France, which won the coveted ‘Best Airline Wine List of the World’ award in 2018 and 2019. Today, I am a visiting lecturer at Glion Institute of Higher Education, Switzerland, where I teach international students, who are passionate about hospitality.
Basso lists the qualities a sommelier should possess — a genuine love for wine, understanding of its complexity, knowledge regarding the wine-making process, have a natural attraction for geography, history and traditions, and understand people and their habits.
At the Glion Institute of Higher Education, Basso teaches a course called “The Universe of Wine”, which covers the principles of wine, from its history to the degustation. He points out that, in the luxury hospitality business and in restaurants generally, beverages represent around 30 to 50% of the revenue. “With such financial stakes, it is essential to know how to manage wine stocks.” Since the Bachelor’s programme involves two internships, many students opt for the first as a sommelier, to apply the practical training Basso offers. Even the second internship, which is more administrative in nature, has students opting to look at the management and financial aspects of being a sommelier.
Careers
Job options involve cultivation, transformation, and sales. A sommelier works in the commercial environment and in various business settings, from a wine shop to a restaurant or bar and any business selling wine. He/she selects the wine, making sure the list matches the client’s expectations both in terms of the wine and the price. A great sommelier needs to master food and wine pairings, to highlight the wine in question.
“To me, oenology should be combined with strong knowledge in food service and finance. Today, considering the immense business that is wine and the revenue that it generates, that also means managing important sums of money for a perishable product. Great management is essential in order to have a wine cellar that is efficiently provisioned, both in terms of quality and in terms of quantity.,” stresses Basso.
The reporter was part of a media contingent taken on tour by Glion Institute of Higher Education, Switzerland.
