How to Use the Sommelier Onboarding Template

Why structured sommelier onboarding matters

A sommelier does far more than open bottles. They shape the wine programme, drive beverage revenue, elevate the guest experience, and train the rest of the service team. Hiring a qualified sommelier is only the first step — if you don't onboard them properly into your specific operation, their knowledge stays disconnected from your restaurant's needs.

Poor onboarding shows up quickly. A sommelier who doesn't understand your pricing strategy recommends wines that hurt margins. One who hasn't worked with the kitchen suggests pairings that don't match the chef's intent. And a sommelier who doesn't know your inventory system creates stock errors that take weeks to untangle. The cost appears in lost revenue, wasted stock, friction with the kitchen team, and a wine programme that doesn't reflect your restaurant's identity.

This template breaks the first week into five focused days, moving from wine list orientation through service technique, food pairing, commercial skills, and leadership development. Each day includes assessment questions so you can check understanding as you go, and success indicators that give both you and your new sommelier a clear view of progress.

Day 1: Wine Programme Orientation

The first day is about immersing your new sommelier in your wine world — the list, the cellar, the systems, and the philosophy behind your wine programme. Everything they do in the following days depends on this foundation.

Wine List and Inventory Introduction

Why this matters: Your sommelier needs to speak about your wines with confidence from their first service. That means understanding not just what's on the list, but how it's organised, why specific wines were chosen, and where to find everything in the cellar.

How to deliver this training:

• Work through the complete wine list together, explaining the logic behind the structure — by region, by style, by price, or however you've organised it
• Walk the cellar physically, showing the organisation system and storage conditions for different wine types
• Demonstrate your inventory management software, including how it connects with the POS system for tracking sales
• Discuss the philosophy behind the programme — why certain producers feature, what style the list favours, and how wine selection supports the restaurant's identity

Customisation tips:

• A restaurant with 50 wines needs a different approach from one with 500 — scale the depth of this session to your list size
• If you have a significant by-the-glass programme, spend extra time on the rotation system and preservation equipment

Restaurant Concept and Service Standards

Why this matters: Wine service doesn't exist in isolation. Your sommelier needs to understand the broader dining experience to make recommendations that fit naturally — the cuisine, the clientele, the pace, and the style of service.

How to deliver this training:

• Discuss the restaurant concept in detail — the cuisine, the target guest, and the experience you're trying to create
• Walk through your specific wine service protocols: temperature guidelines, glassware standards, presentation sequence, and timing expectations
• Arrange introductions with management, the chef team, and key service staff — these relationships will define how well the sommelier integrates
• Have them observe a complete service period from the dining room to see how wine service fits within the broader flow

Customisation tips:

• Fine dining operations need the sommelier to understand precise service choreography; bistro settings may prioritise approachability over formality
• If your restaurant has a strong cocktail or spirits programme alongside wine, discuss how the sommelier's role intersects with the bar team

Cellar Management Fundamentals

Why this matters: Wine is a perishable product that requires specific storage conditions. A sommelier who understands cellar management protects a significant financial investment and maintains the quality your guests expect.

How to deliver this training:

• Walk through your temperature and humidity monitoring systems, showing where readings are taken and what the acceptable ranges are
• Demonstrate your bottle organisation and rotation practices — how new stock is integrated and how you track what needs drinking soon
• Run through the delivery acceptance process together, covering quality checks, temperature verification, and documentation
• Show the preservation systems used for by-the-glass wines and explain the freshness standards for open bottles

Customisation tips:

• Restaurants without dedicated cellar space need to emphasise working with limited storage and more frequent deliveries
• If you use Coravin or similar preservation systems, add hands-on training with the specific equipment

Assessment Questions

Use these questions to check understanding at the end of Day 1. Have a conversation over a glass of wine — keep it relaxed and focus on practical knowledge rather than textbook recall.

How to use these questions effectively:

• Ask the sommelier to walk you through the list and explain the structure without looking at notes
• Check inventory system competence by having them look up a specific wine and describe its location
• Note areas where additional support is needed and plan to revisit them on Day 2

Success Indicators

By the end of Day 1, your new sommelier should be demonstrating these behaviours. If any are missing, revisit the relevant training section before moving to Day 2.

Day 1 Notes

Record observations about how Day 1 went — what the new sommelier picked up quickly, areas needing extra support, and any adjustments to the remaining training days.

Day 2: Service Standards and Guest Interaction

Day 2 is all about the craft of wine service. Technical skill and guest communication are what guests actually experience, and this is where your sommelier's professionalism becomes visible.

Tableside Wine Service Techniques

Why this matters: Even the most knowledgeable sommelier loses credibility if they fumble a cork or pour awkwardly. Technical service skills need to be polished and second nature so the sommelier can focus their attention on the guest rather than the mechanics.

How to deliver this training:

• Walk through the complete wine presentation sequence from start to finish — bottle presentation, label display, opening, tasting pour, approval, and full service
• Practise opening different closure types: natural cork, synthetic cork, screw cap, wax-sealed, and sparkling wine cages
• Demonstrate decanting for both sediment separation (old wines) and aeration (young wines), including the candle technique for vintage bottles
• Run through temperature management techniques — how to chill a room-temperature white quickly, how to take the chill off an over-cold red

Customisation tips:

• If your list features many older vintages, spend extra time on the care required for fragile corks and sediment management
• Restaurants serving primarily New World wines may need less decanting training but more emphasis on temperature adjustments

Guest Communication and Wine Recommendation Skills

Why this matters: The ability to read a guest, understand their preferences, and guide them to a wine they'll love is what separates a great sommelier from someone who simply opens bottles. This is where knowledge becomes hospitality.

How to deliver this training:

• Practise open-ended questioning techniques that reveal guest preferences without feeling like an interrogation — "What have you enjoyed recently?" works better than "Do you prefer red or white?"
• Develop a shared vocabulary for describing wines to guests — accessible language that communicates flavour and style without jargon
• Role-play responding to wine knowledge questions, including the honest "I'm not sure, but I'll find out" response for unfamiliar topics
• Practise handling wine complaints diplomatically — cork taint identification, temperature issues, and the guest who simply doesn't like their choice

Customisation tips:

• Restaurants with a well-informed clientele can train the sommelier to go deeper in discussions; those with a broader audience should emphasise approachability
• If your restaurant serves international guests, discuss how cultural differences affect wine service expectations

Wine Service for Different Dining Scenarios

Why this matters: A business lunch needs different wine service from a celebration dinner. Your sommelier needs to read each table's energy and adjust their pace, recommendations, and level of engagement accordingly.

How to deliver this training:

• Discuss the key differences in service approach for each dining scenario your restaurant typically handles — quick lunches, romantic dinners, group celebrations, corporate events
• Walk through wine service for large parties, including how to manage multiple bottle selections across a long table
• Practise the balance between attentiveness and discretion — checking glasses without hovering, offering suggestions without interrupting
• Discuss timing coordination with food service, particularly for tasting menus where wine pairings need to arrive with each course

Customisation tips:

• Restaurants with significant private dining should add training on managing wine for bespoke events and pre-selected menus
• If your operation handles a lot of walk-in trade alongside bookings, discuss how to read and adapt to tables with no advance information

Assessment Questions

Check these at the end of Day 2. By now your sommelier should be able to perform a complete wine service confidently and communicate naturally with guests.

How to use these questions effectively:

• Ask the sommelier to demonstrate a full service sequence while you play the guest — observe technique and confidence
• Role-play a guest who doesn't know what they want and assess the sommelier's questioning skills
• Note any areas of hesitation for follow-up during Day 3

Success Indicators

By the end of Day 2, your sommelier should be showing fluid, confident service technique and natural guest interaction. If their movements are still hesitant or their communication stilted, schedule extra practice time before moving to Day 3.

Day 2 Notes

Record how your sommelier handled the service training — natural strengths in technique, communication style with guests, and areas that need more practice.

Day 3: Menu Integration and Food Pairing

Day 3 connects wine knowledge to your food offering. A sommelier who understands the kitchen's approach and can pair confidently creates a more cohesive dining experience and drives wine sales through genuine enthusiasm.

Food and Wine Pairing Principles

Why this matters: Great pairings transform a meal. A well-matched wine lifts a dish and vice versa, creating moments that guests remember and talk about. Your sommelier needs to understand your specific menu deeply enough to make confident pairing recommendations.

How to deliver this training:

• Arrange a tasting session with the chef where key dishes are prepared and tasted together, discussing flavour profiles, seasoning levels, and cooking techniques
• Work through pairing exercises using your actual menu and wine list, discussing why certain combinations work and others don't
• Cover regional pairing traditions that are relevant to your cuisine — classic matches that guests will recognise and appreciate
• Tackle challenging ingredients together: high-acid dishes, very spicy food, umami-heavy preparations, and desserts

Customisation tips:

• Asian-influenced restaurants face particular pairing challenges — spend extra time on wines that work with chilli, fermented flavours, and complex spicing
• If your menu changes frequently (seasonal, daily specials), emphasise the framework for rapid pairing rather than memorising fixed combinations

Menu Knowledge and Staff Collaboration

Why this matters: The sommelier's relationship with the kitchen team directly affects the quality of their recommendations. A sommelier who understands cooking methods, ingredient choices, and the chef's intent creates more thoughtful pairings than one working from a menu description alone.

How to deliver this training:

• Have the sommelier spend time in the kitchen observing prep and service, watching how dishes come together
• Include them in pre-service briefings where daily specials and menu changes are discussed, and have them prepare pairing suggestions
• Observe or participate in existing wine training for the service team to understand current knowledge levels
• Run a collaborative tasting session with kitchen and service staff — this builds relationships and creates a shared understanding of the food-and-wine connection

Customisation tips:

• In kitchens where the chef takes an active interest in wine, build a regular tasting routine between chef and sommelier
• If your service team is responsible for selling wine at the table (rather than the sommelier attending every table), invest more time in the staff training element

Special Menu and Event Wine Planning

Why this matters: Wine dinners, tasting menus, and seasonal events are opportunities to showcase the wine programme and generate significant revenue. Your sommelier needs the planning skills to create these experiences effectively.

How to deliver this training:

• Walk through examples of past wine-paired tasting menus or wine dinners at your restaurant, discussing what worked and what could improve
• Practise designing a wine flight around a specific theme — a region, a grape variety, or a seasonal concept
• Discuss how to adapt the wine offering when the menu changes seasonally, including which wines to feature and which to cycle out
• Talk through the logistics of wine-focused events: guest numbers, pour volumes, glassware requirements, and pricing

Customisation tips:

• Restaurants that host regular wine events should go deeper on event planning, including promotion, supplier partnerships, and guest communication
• If your operation doesn't currently run wine events, use this as an opportunity to develop a first proposal together

Assessment Questions

Day 3 covers a wide range of skills that connect wine knowledge to food and teamwork. Use these questions to check that your sommelier is building practical pairing confidence.

How to use these questions effectively:

• Present a dish and ask the sommelier to suggest three pairings at different price points, explaining their reasoning
• Check their kitchen knowledge by asking about preparation methods for key menu items
• Test flexibility by asking what they'd recommend if a specific wine is out of stock

Success Indicators

By end of Day 3, your sommelier should be showing a growing understanding of how food and wine work together on your specific menu. They should be building relationships with the kitchen team and contributing to pre-service discussions.

Day 3 Notes

Note how the sommelier engaged with the kitchen team, the quality of their pairing suggestions, and their willingness to learn about the food side of the operation.

Day 4: Sales Techniques and Inventory Management

Day 4 focuses on the commercial side of the sommelier's role. Wine knowledge and service skill need to translate into revenue, and accurate inventory management protects the investment in your cellar.

Wine Sales Techniques and Strategy

Why this matters: A sommelier who can sell well increases revenue without making guests feel pressured. The best wine selling feels like generous guidance, not a transaction. This balance between hospitality and commercial awareness is one of the hardest skills to develop.

How to deliver this training:

• Practise suggestive selling at different price points — start with the wine the guest would naturally choose, then show how to guide towards a more interesting or higher-value option
• Demonstrate upselling techniques that focus on value and experience rather than price: "This producer is exceptional and we only have a few bottles left" is more effective than "Would you like something more expensive?"
• Review your by-the-glass programme strategy, including how to maximise sales while managing open bottle freshness
• Discuss how to present rare or limited-availability wines — creating a sense of occasion and exclusivity without pretension

Customisation tips:

• Restaurants with a predominantly business clientele may find guests less price-sensitive but more interested in impressive labels and regions
• If your list has strong options in the mid-price range, train the sommelier on how to steer guests away from the cheapest and most expensive towards these high-margin wines

Pricing Strategy and Financial Performance

Why this matters: A sommelier who understands pricing, margins, and sales data can make recommendations that serve both the guest and the business. This commercial awareness turns the sommelier into a genuine revenue driver rather than a cost centre.

How to deliver this training:

• Walk through your pricing structure, explaining how markup varies across different tiers and why certain wines carry higher or lower margins
• Review historical sales data together, identifying which wines sell well, which sit on the list, and which generate the most profit
• Discuss pour cost targets for by-the-glass and bottle sales, and show how to calculate and track them
• Introduce the wine purchasing budget and explain how buying decisions affect cash flow throughout the year

Customisation tips:

• Operations with a wine buyer separate from the sommelier should clarify where recommendation ends and purchasing authority begins
• If your restaurant uses a sommelier incentive structure tied to wine sales, explain the targets and how they're tracked

Inventory Control and Wine Rotation

Why this matters: Accurate inventory prevents both financial loss and the embarrassment of recommending a wine that's out of stock. Good rotation practices also protect wine quality by making sure nothing sits in storage past its best drinking window.

How to deliver this training:

• Walk through a physical inventory count together, demonstrating counting technique, recording methods, and common error points
• Show how to reconcile inventory discrepancies between physical counts and system records
• Demonstrate your delivery receiving process, including quality checks, temperature verification, and proper storage placement
• Discuss FIFO rotation, paying particular attention to wines with limited ageing potential that need moving through the list before they decline

Customisation tips:

• Restaurants with large cellars need more emphasis on systematic counting methods and variance analysis
• If your operation uses bin numbers, train the sommelier on your specific numbering system and how it maps to the cellar layout

Assessment Questions

Day 4 covers commercial skills and operational accuracy. Use these questions to check that your sommelier balances hospitality with business awareness.

How to use these questions effectively:

• Role-play a guest interaction and assess whether the sommelier recommends appropriately across price points
• Have them walk you through a profitability scenario for a specific wine versus its alternative
• Check inventory accuracy by having them complete a count of one section and reconcile against the system

Success Indicators

By end of Day 4, your sommelier should be showing commercial confidence alongside their wine knowledge. If they're uncomfortable discussing money or struggle with inventory systems, schedule additional practice.

Day 4 Notes

Record how your sommelier handled the commercial training. Note their natural selling style, comfort with financial data, and accuracy in inventory tasks.

Day 5: Team Leadership and Ongoing Development

The final day looks beyond daily operations to the sommelier's broader role in developing the team, growing the wine programme, and continuing their own professional development.

Wine Team Development and Training

Why this matters: A sommelier can't be at every table during every service. The more they develop the wider team's wine knowledge and confidence, the better the overall wine experience for guests — and the higher the wine sales across the board.

How to deliver this training:

• Discuss effective methods for teaching wine to service staff who may have limited knowledge — accessibility and enthusiasm matter more than depth at this stage
• Have the sommelier practise running a short, structured tasting session, as if training the service team on a new wine addition
• Talk through how to monitor wine service quality across the team — what to watch for, how to give feedback, and when to step in
• Review tools for assessing staff wine knowledge: quick quizzes, tasting exercises, and practical demonstrations

Customisation tips:

• Restaurants with large service teams may need the sommelier to create a formal training calendar with regular sessions
• If your team already has strong wine knowledge, shift the focus from basic training to advanced topics and blind tasting practice

Professional Development Planning

Why this matters: Wine is a field where learning never stops. A sommelier who continues developing their knowledge stays engaged in the role, brings fresh ideas to the programme, and adds increasing value to the business over time.

How to deliver this training:

• Discuss relevant education pathways: WSET qualifications, Court of Master Sommeliers levels, or other certification programmes that align with your expectations
• Talk about the value of regular blind tasting practice and help identify tasting groups or internal sessions they can join
• Discuss how to build relationships with producers and suppliers — tastings, visits, and industry events that expand their network
• If vineyard travel is part of your programme's development approach, explain expectations for visits and how knowledge gets shared with the team afterwards

Customisation tips:

• If your restaurant supports certification costs, make this clear during onboarding — it's a significant benefit that influences retention
• Smaller operations might focus on self-directed learning and supplier tastings rather than formal qualifications

Programme Development and Innovation

Why this matters: A wine programme that stays static loses its edge. Your sommelier should be thinking about how to evolve the list, create events, spot trends, and keep the programme feeling fresh and exciting for both guests and staff.

How to deliver this training:

• Discuss your process for updating the wine list — how often it changes, who makes decisions, and how new additions are selected
• Talk through seasonal promotion ideas: summer rosé features, autumn harvest wines, winter warmers, spring releases
• Explore wine dinner and tasting event formats that work for your space and clientele
• Discuss emerging trends — natural wine, low-intervention winemaking, lesser-known regions, and alternative varieties — and how they might fit your programme

Customisation tips:

• Restaurants with frequent list changes need the sommelier to develop a strong system for keeping service staff updated
• If your operation is open to experimental additions (pet-nat, orange wine, skin-contact whites), discuss how to introduce these to guests who may be unfamiliar

Assessment and Performance Review

Why this matters: The final assessment brings together everything from the week and sets the direction for the months ahead. It's a chance to celebrate what's gone well, be honest about gaps, and agree on a development plan with clear goals.

How to deliver this training:

• Run a comprehensive knowledge check covering the wine list, service standards, and operational procedures — keep it practical rather than theoretical
• Observe a complete wine service sequence with a real or simulated guest and provide specific, constructive feedback
• Set measurable goals for the first three months: sales targets, training milestones, knowledge development areas, and programme improvement ideas
• Create space for the sommelier to share their own observations and suggestions — they may have spotted opportunities or issues during the week that are worth discussing

Customisation tips:

• If your restaurant has formal performance review cycles, explain the timeline and criteria so the sommelier knows what to work towards
• For new wine programmes still being developed, involve the sommelier in shaping the programme's direction from the start

Success Indicators

These are the markers of a sommelier who's ready to take ownership of the wine programme. If all are present, your onboarding has been successful. If any are missing, extend supported working for another few days before stepping back completely.

Day 5 Notes

Record your final assessment of the onboarding period. Note strengths, development areas, and any agreed next steps for continued training.

Making the most of this template

Five days is a guideline, not a rigid rule. If your new sommelier is only available part-time or your restaurant is closed certain days, stretch the programme across more shifts so each training day gets full attention. Compressing wine training into rushed sessions wastes the opportunity.

Use the notes sections at the end of each day to build a record of your sommelier's development. These notes are valuable for performance reviews, identifying patterns across new hires, and tracking how quickly new sommeliers integrate into your specific operation.

The assessment questions and success indicators create accountability for both the trainer and the sommelier. If success indicators aren't being met by the end of each day, that's useful information — it might mean the pace needs adjusting, the content needs reinforcing, or the sommelier needs support in specific areas.

Consider connecting your new sommelier with a trusted wine supplier representative who can serve as an additional resource during the first few months. Supplier relationships are a valuable source of product knowledge, market insight, and tasting opportunities that complement your internal training.