- Also called a wine steward, a sommelier is a professional wine connoisseur who is trained in all aspects of wine service. The most visible part of a sommelier's role is to provide expert advice to customers, but he might also be involved in developing a wine menu and managing a wine cellar or storage area. Most have training or certification from one or more of several American and international guilds or associations. The best also have considerable experience of wine-growing regions and varietals, as well as a highly developed palate.
- The sommelier of a restaurant divides her time between working with culinary professionals to create pleasing wine pairings for particular food items and working on the floor of the restaurant, making suggestions suited to the taste preferences and budget of the customers. Sommeliers will also likely train and manage other service staff in these skills, and will spend more time in procurement and storage of a wine collection. While, in some cases, the restaurant sommelier might be focused exclusively on wine, in others, her expertise can extend to beers, spirits, cocktails, cigars or any aspect of the restaurant's service.
- A potentially more exotic experience for a sommelier, though not usually as distinguished, is to work in the wine-tasting room of a wine-producing estate. Many wine growers offer tasting and tours to lure in customers, and they staff these services with individuals who are knowledgeable in the wines of the particular estate and wines in general. Responsibilities range from socializing with guests and selling and conducting tastings, to conducting tours and cleaning and restocking the tasting room. Work for these sommeliers tends to be seasonal, and requires a more in-depth understanding of the estate and its fruits than a generalist might have, in order to address the questions of tasters and visitors. Sommeliers in a tasting room can sometimes earn commissions on their sales.
