Sommelier
Snapshot
Sommeliers stock, prepare, advise on and serve wine and other alcoholic beverages.
Sommeliers are beverage experts, primarily working within restaurants, hotels, and fine dining establishments. Your day involves carefully managing wine inventory, ensuring proper storage conditions, and providing knowledgeable recommendations to patrons. You’ll build relationships with suppliers, stay current on wine trends, and contribute to the overall ambiance of the establishment.
- • Selecting and purchasing wines, considering factors like quality, price, and customer preferences.
- • Creating and maintaining wine lists, ensuring variety and balance.
- • Advising guests on wine selections to complement their meals.
Where this occupation is in demand
Reported labour shortages and surpluses, by year. Published for occupation groups, not for individual job titles.
Figures cover Personal service workers — 86 jobs including this one.
In shortage: Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and 10 more.
Longest-running shortage: Bulgaria, 4 years.
Select a place on the map to see its figures.
About this source›
Source: ELA/EURES labour shortages and surpluses. Readings are published at occupation-group level, and cover Europe. Editions differ in annex layout and country coverage, so a change between years does not always mean the labour market changed. Countries in grey were not reported, which is not the same as being in balance.
What these words mean
The four things this section reports
- Reported demand
- Whether employers report needing people in this job — a judgement published by a national or EU body, not a count.
- Where it is heading
- Which way employment in this job is expected to move over the coming years, from an official projection.
- Openings
- Roughly how many openings arise — from growth and from people leaving the job.
- Typical pay
- What people in this job typically earn where the source publishes it. Blank does not mean unpaid; it means nobody publishes it for that place.
A measure is left out when nobody publishes it for that place, rather than shown as zero.
Which way the market leans for you
- In your favour
- More openings than people looking — employers are competing for candidates.
- Balanced
- Openings and candidates are roughly matched.
- Competitive
- More people looking than openings — expect to compete.
- Mixed evidence
- Sources disagree, or the same occupation group is short in one part and oversupplied in another.
Every source resolves to one of these four, so there is a single vocabulary to learn. What differs is the evidence behind it, which is printed underneath each verdict — a measured ratio of openings to jobseekers, or an assessment published by a national body.
How this job compares with other jobs in the same country
- Strong
- Among the strongest in that country
- Good
- Stronger than most jobs in that country
- Mixed
- About typical for that country
- Weak
- Weaker than most jobs in that country
This is a rank within one country, not a score you can carry across borders — the registers behind two countries count different people, so the same number means different things in each. It is also why a job can be among the strongest in a country and still show as Competitive: it leads the field in a market that is crowded overall.
Where these come from
Every figure is published by a national statistics office, a public employment service or an EU body, and each card names its source and the period it covers. Some places are counted monthly, others assessed once or twice a year, so two places on the same map can be describing different moments — the date is always shown.
None of this predicts one person’s chances. It describes a market.
Reported demand · Typical pay · Where it is heading (United States, Ireland, Australia, Malta, United Kingdom)
| Reported demand | Typical pay | Where it is heading | |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Not reported | $35,230 2025-05 | −0.7% 2024–2034 · BLS 2024-2034 |
| Ireland | Not reported | — | +16.7% 2023–2035 · Cedefop 2026 * |
| Australia | Assessed as balanced Jobs and Skills Australia 2025 * | — | — |
| Malta | Shortage reported ELA/EURES 2024 * | — | +1% 2023–2035 · Cedefop 2026 * |
| United Kingdom | Not reported | £10,000 2025-provisional | — |
* Published for occupation groups, not for individual job titles.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS)
Source: Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Open Government Licence v3.0
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Future Outlook for sommelier
The outlook for sommelier is exceptionally stable. While AI tools will assist with daily tasks, the core of this role relies on human judgment, resulting in a high resilience score of 83%.
How are these scores calculated?
The Resilience Score (0–100) estimates how structurally protected this occupation is from automation and AI disruption, based on task-level analysis. Higher scores mean more human-judgment-intensive tasks. AI Exposure shows the estimated percentage of task hours that current AI capabilities could affect. These are model-derived structural indicators, not predictions about individual job security.
How could sommelier change as AI adoption grows?
Human judgement, trust, and context remain strong protectors for this role.
Illustrative scenario based on task automatability — not a forecast. Values are rounded the further ahead you look.
Human judgement, trust, and context remain strong protectors for this role.
Illustrative scenario based on task automatability — not a forecast. Values are rounded the further ahead you look.
Model-based estimate. Use it as a planning signal, not a guarantee.
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How AI may change this role
Deterministic, model-based interpretation of current role signals — not a guarantee of replacement.
What still depends on people
- select glassware for serving
- comply with food safety and hygiene
- serve wines
Where AI may become a co-pilot
- check wine quality
- compile wine lists
Tasks most exposed to automation
No single task here is highly automatable yet.
Vital Signs & AI Vectors
AI Exposure Vectors
0-100%Exposure to content generation, creative augmentation, and large language model tools
Exposure to AI-assisted analysis, pattern recognition, and predictive modelling tasks
Exposure to physical automation, robotics, and sensor-driven task displacement
Exposure to workflow automation, decision-support software, and process digitisation
Technical Details
NexFuture v3.0 estimates automation exposure natively from ESCO essential-skill groups, weighted by skill mass and calibrated against expert anchors. Scores are probabilistic estimates, not guarantees. See the NexFuture Methodology White Paper for full details.
Measures automation exposure. It does not measure pay, demand, or how many jobs exist near you.
What people in this role usually do
Hospitality, Events, & Tourism
A typical day as a sommelier
09 09:00 · Morning check wine quality
10 10:30 · Mid-morning prepare alcoholic beverages
12 12:00 · Midday assist customers
14 14:00 · Afternoon decant wines
15 15:30 · Late afternoon organise wine cellar
17 17:00 · Wrap-up compile wine lists
Task order is illustrative. Individual days vary.
What you need to do this work
The skills, knowledge and tools this role calls for — and the traits and rewards that come with it.
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select glassware for serving
Choose appropriate glassware for beverages and inspect glass quality and cleanliness.
-
serve wines
Provide wine using proper techniques in front of the customers. Open the bottle correctly, decant the wine if needed, serve and keep the wine in the proper temperature and container.
-
decant wines
Identify when wine should be decanted. Decant the bottles in presence of guests in a professional and safe way. Decanting especially benefits red wines. Pour wine from one container into another, typically in order to separate out sediment.
-
comply with food safety and hygiene
Respect optimal food safety and hygiene during preparation, manufacturing, processing, storage, distribution and delivery of food products.
-
order supplies
Command products from relevant suppliers to get convenient and profitable products to purchase.
-
organise wine cellar
Systematise the wine cellar to ensure an appropriate amount and variation of wine and carry-out efficient and effective stock rotation.
-
upsell products
Persuade customers to buy additional or more expensive products.
-
check wine quality
Control the quality of wines and report corked or spoiled wines and return them to suppliers.
-
assist customers
Provide support and advice to customers in making purchasing decisions by finding out their needs, selecting suitable service and products for them and politely answering questions about products and services.
-
maintain customer service
Keep the highest possible customer service and make sure that the customer service is at all times performed in a professional way. Help customers or participants feel at ease and support special requirements.
-
recommend wines
Offer recommendations to customers on available wines and advise combinations of wines with specific dishes on the menu.
-
compile wine lists
Create and update wine lists ensuring it complements the food menu and brand characteristics
sparkling wines
The varieties of sparkling wines and their match with food products.
wine characteristics
The origins and characteristics of international wines.
Path to become a sommelier
What it typically takes to qualify: education level, where it is a regulated profession, and where to study.
Primary education
The closest officially recognised professional qualification in the Flemish qualification structure:
- Sommelier Flemish level 4
A closest match, not an exact equivalent: a qualification is often narrower than the occupation. Source: AHOVOKS, Flemish government (Kwalificatiedatabank), reused under the Flemish Open Licence for free reuse.
32 programmes in 9 countries teach the core skills of this job. Plus 35 short courses that build single skills.
A few examples, taught in the language of this page:
Bachelor of Business in Wine and Beverage Management
Technological University Dublin · Ireland
Valkeakosken ammattiopisto · Finland
Certificate in Food and Beverage Operations
South East Technological University · Ireland
These are 5 of 67.
Sources
- 1. Source: Europass Qualification Dataset Register (European Commission)
- 2. Source: Study in Korea, National Institute for International Education (NIIED) (studyinkorea.go.kr).
- 3. Source: Opintopolku.fi (Finnish National Agency for Education)
Growth Pathways & Similar Roles
Explore typical career progression paths, adjacent skills, and similar roles to plan your next transition.
Where does sommelier fit?
Similarity scores based on skill overlap from ESCO data.
For organisations
The data on this page, working for your students, clients and staff.
Frequently asked questions
What skills are most important for a sommelier?
Is formal training required to become a sommelier?
What is the typical work environment for a sommelier?
How much does Sommelier pay in the United States?
Sources: ESCO O*NET ELA/EURES Cedefop BLS Data updated October 3, 2026 About our data