Lead Wine Educator-Sonoma Coast Vineyards

Job Description:

The History of Foley Family Wines & Spirits
In spring of 1996, Bill & Carol Foley purchased 1,000 acres of lush and fertile earth within the then relatively unknown Sta. Rita Hills region of Santa Barbara County. Their plan – produce hand-crafted Chardonnay and Pinot Noir that reflected the best of California’s Central Coast. Named for their two daughters – Lindsey & Courtney – Lincourt Vineyards was born, and with it, the beginning of Foley Family Wines & Spirits.

In the 25 years since, Foley Family Wines & Spirits has grown into one of the world’s largest producers of fine wine, adding some of the industry’s most valuable wineries, located in the most recognized winemaking regions, including Napa, Sonoma, the Pacific Northwest, and New Zealand. Today, the Foley Family Wines & Spirits portfolio boasts a number of the most-celebrated names in wine, including Chalk Hill Estate, Chalone, Ferrari-Carano, and Sebastiani.

Job Summary:
The Hospitality Center Lead Wine Educator position is centered primarily on supporting service and sales expectations in a cohesive and efficient, service-oriented tasting room environment. The Lead Wine Educator maintains a continual presence on the floor, managing customer service and sales objectives. This position will actively participate in phone sales campaigns to help generate revenue. The main task of this position is to lead by example and to demonstrate the service and sales standards to meet the overall business objectives. In addition, the Lead Wine Educator position is responsible for providing support in the form of proper training and offering performance feedback to the tasting room staff to provide excellent customers service and meet and/or exceed their performance objectives.

Roles and Responsibilities:
• Responsible for assisting to establish an atmosphere of teamwork and positive employee relations through communication of goals and business objectives
• Develop new business referrals through outreach efforts to local hotels, restaurants, etc.
• Manage concierge inbox by promptly responding to emails and voicemails
• Contributes to the training and development of current and new staff members providing feedback to Senior Management
• Open/close duties. Daily banking and cash balancing. Daily sales reporting. Record & process daily wine pours. Keep merchandise stocked. Manage wine inventory
• Assist with staff scheduling. Coordinate breaks for employees. Facilitate staff’s daily responsibilities. Coordinate staff meetings & training with management approval
• Customer Relations. Wine sales, Wine Club sales, etc. Book and lead private tastings, greet visitors, lead visitors through wine tasting. Facilitate business flow and customer
service to maintain an efficient and welcoming hospitality center atmosphere.
• New employee training. Educate staff on new wines, sales, etc. Motivate sales and record sales goals. Special projects as assigned by supervisor
• Bi-weekly processing/editing of employee timecards

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:
• Knowledge of winemaking, from vine to wine and able to provide a succinct summary of the process for both red and white wines
• Must have a passion for talking about wine, educating people about wine, wine and food pairing, selling wine and promoting wine club events
• Knowledge of membership programs is required
• Food handling certification and compliance is required
• Knowledge of the growing regions, wines, and the most common varietals in each viticulture area

Experience and Qualifications:
• Must be at least 21 years of age
• Two years or more retail, restaurant and/or tasting room sales experience including cash handling is required
• Computer, cash register and sales analysis/reporting experience are highly desirable
• Must have knowledge of Wine Industry (wine club/customer loyalty programs, three tier distribution) with knowledge of food and beverage operations and service delivery
• Excellent customer service skills
• Must be a positive role model with the ability to be a team player and model teamwork
• When necessary, must be able to work a flexible schedule including evenings, weekends

Work Environment
The tasting room is a non-smoking work environment. Employees working in the tasting room are asked to not smoke during a workday or be free from any aroma that may be associated with smoking. No heavily scented perfumes, hand lotions, or hair products are allowed as they can interfere with the tasting of wines. While performing the duties of this job, the employee usually works in the tasting room with moderate noise levels, heavy people traffic, food, wine, and business office machines.

Company Core Values:
Teamwork – Be a Spirited Partner
Commitment – Crush Every Day
Quality – Good vs. Grape: It’s All in The Details
Integrity – It Takes a Community
Safety – Tend the Vines
Entrepreneurship – Love the Wine You’re With
Fun! - Smile! You Have Purple Teeth!

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