Making a Living Out of Wine
For someone who loves wine a career in the wine industry can be a dream come true. The wine industry has an eight-thousand-year old history, rooted in ancient Mesopotamia. The modern wine industry is not only profitable but also global in outlook.
A wine career can be interesting, challenging, and financially attractive. You could make anywhere between $30,000 and $150,000 as a wine maker, wine consultant, vineyard manager, marketing director, wine shop owner, sommelier, writer, or educator. The lowest paid jobs are those of the cellar master, the cellar rat, and the cooper. The owner of a winery is at the highest paid position in the wine industry.
A wine career incorporates opportunities to taste the finest wines, dine in high quality restaurants, meet highly successful and interesting people in the wine business, attend international wine seminars and conferences, and travel all over the globe.
At the same time, a wine career is fraught with several challenges. It is only recently that a well-defined curriculum has been designed to teach and train sommeliers, wine makers, salespeople, and educators. Many wine makers and other successful people in the industry do not have a formal degree in the art of wine making. They are people who have worked their way up by beginning as a cellar rat or cellar master. Most of them will have attended school and secured a degree after many years of experience in the field.
A degree in Enology from any major wine school in American, Europe, or Australia will be of great help if you’re looking to enter the wine industry. Fresno State University produces excellent wine makers and also has a working winery. The Master of Wine (MW) program is offered at the reputed Institute of Masters of Wine, UK. Master Sommelier (MS) courses are offered not only in UK, but also in the US. The Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) is yet another British based organization.
If you have a passion for wine and wine making, a career in the wine industry is just the thing for you. The possibilities are endless, and the rewards are great.
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