Sommelier - Hourly

SA Hospitality Group is Italian at heart, the vision of Gherardo Guarducci and Dimitri Pauli who have translated old-world sensibilities to appeal to modern-day New York City clientele. Since 2003, SA Hospitality Group has expanded to a selective group of iconic New York neighborhoods with its three brands: Sant Ambroeus, Casa Lever, and Felice, operating 24 restaurant locations in Manhattan, Southampton, NY, East Hampton, NY, Aspen, CO, Milan, Italy, and Palm Beach, FL.

About the Role

This person is responsible for ensuring quality and consistency of the restaurant’s beverage program, maintaining and enhancing service, and educating the staff. This role involves recommending and selling wines and other beverages to guests while ensuring their enjoyment.

Responsibilities

• Logistics:
  • Monitor departmental logistics efficiency and propose improvements to achieve expected outcomes, such as increasing wine sales, optimizing cellar organization, and refining re-stocking systems.
  • Assist in and conduct wine training for new and existing staff, including generating training materials.
  • Monitor and verify wine deliveries, BIN # assignments, proper storage, and organization of the wine cellar.
• Dining Room Service:
  • Provide friendly, courteous, and efficient service to all guests with professionalism, including making eye contact, smiling, and maintaining proper posture.
  • Work collaboratively as a member of the beverage team and interact positively with the service team.
  • Demonstrate in-depth knowledge of wines, including types and regions, to assist customers in selecting wines that suit their meal and budget.
  • Resolve guest complaints by interacting beyond basic instructions.
  • Offer wine expertise, guide guests on wine selections, and oversee wine service throughout the restaurant by being present on the floor.
  • Present, represent, and suggest wines to guests while executing wine service step-by-step.
  • Support dining room staff with wine-related and service-related issues.
  • Personalize service by using guests' names, building relationships with loyal guests, and checking satisfaction by engaging with every table.
  • Build guest loyalty by maintaining preference notes related to wine consumption and enjoyment (with assistance from the host team) and recording all guest notes in the Resy database.
  • Anticipate and fulfill guest needs before requests are made.
  • Recommend after-dinner drinks and assist staff in service.
  • Possess knowledge of the food menu to recommend wine pairings.
  • Maintain a visible presence on the floor to conduct quality checks on guests.
  • Keep the cocktail cart clean and be prepared to make cocktails at the table.
• Product Presentation & Staff Education:
  • Monitor and ensure the highest quality of wine.
  • Maintain the quality and par levels of wine glassware and decanters.
  • Set up ice buckets in main dining and lounge areas for service.
  • Retrieve glassware as needed for wine service.
  • Train and guide staff on proper bottle presentation, decanting, pouring, and correct verbiage usage.
  • Organize short daily pre-shift trainings and tastings, and ensure a monthly wine class is scheduled.
  • Communicate wine lows, 86's, and information on new wines to staff.
• Inventory Management and Administrative:
  • Maintain an inventory system using company programs to track bottle movement across storage areas.
  • Conduct full liquor and wine inventory on the last day of every month.
  • Perform monthly beverage inventory and update internal wine inventory sheets after weekly counts.
  • Ensure accuracy of wines listed on all menus, wine lists, and POS postings.
  • Communicate wine changes and pricing updates to the corporate wine department and design team for menu updates.
  • Update all menus containing wines by the glass to reflect changes.
  • Communicate changes in a timely manner, including updating keys for wines in Toast, which are linked to active inventory numbers.
  • Deactivate and remove wines from the list in Toast and inform the corporate wine department of all changes.
  • In the absence of the receiver, handle all aspects of wine logistics, including deliveries, invoices, and stocking bottles.
  • Coordinate with the bartender on available liquor and take cocktail orders or make recommendations.
  • Ensure all necessary wine is available for events and set up the wine station.
• Financial & Legal:
  • Maximize financial performance and profit by suggesting promotions, increasing revenue, training staff on upselling, and building guest loyalty.
  • Execute and take responsibility for beverage inventory results.
  • Assist in beverage purchasing if requested.
  • Enforce federal, state, and local laws related to alcohol consumption, including training staff on minimum drinking age requirements and TIPs certification.
  • Maintain the safety and security of all employees, guests, and company assets.
• Self-Development:
  • Maintain current knowledge of the world of wines and stay updated on industry and wine trends through self-directed learning.
  • Progress in education will be evaluated on an ongoing basis.
  • The company will support educational goals related to the Sommelier role with prior management approval.