Master Your Sommelier Interview
From wine lists to guest experiences, answer with confidence and showcase your palate expertise.
- Real‑world behavioral and technical questions
- STAR‑formatted model answers
- Competency‑based evaluation criteria
- Quick‑fire practice pack for timed drills
Customer Service
A guest at a high‑end restaurant complained that the wine I suggested didn’t pair well with their steak, and they were visibly frustrated.
I needed to calm the guest, reassess their palate preferences, and find a suitable alternative quickly.
I listened actively, apologized, asked clarifying questions about flavor preferences, and offered a different wine with a complementary profile, explaining the pairing rationale.
The guest appreciated the attentive service, enjoyed the new wine, left a positive review, and the table increased their tip by 20%.
- What metrics do you use to gauge guest satisfaction after a wine service?
- How would you handle a repeat complaint from the same guest?
- Demonstrates active listening
- Shows wine knowledge and pairing logic
- Maintains composure under pressure
- Delivers a positive outcome
- Blames the guest or the wine list
- Fails to propose an alternative
- Listen and acknowledge the complaint
- Ask probing questions about taste preferences
- Suggest an alternative with clear pairing logic
- Confirm satisfaction and follow up
During a busy dinner service, I noticed guests were ordering mid‑range bottles but seemed open to exploring higher‑end options.
My goal was to introduce premium selections in a way that felt natural and added value.
I highlighted unique attributes of a premium wine that matched their meal, offered a tasting pour, and let them decide without pressure.
Several tables chose the premium option, increasing average check size by 12% while receiving compliments on the personalized service.
- Can you give an example of a wine you successfully upsold and why it resonated?
- How do you handle a guest who declines an upsell politely?
- Shows subtle sales technique
- Aligns wine attributes with guest preferences
- Maintains guest comfort
- Tracks measurable impact
- Aggressive sales language
- Ignoring guest cues
- Identify guest interest through conversation
- Present premium wine benefits relevant to their meal
- Offer a small tasting portion
- Allow the guest to decide without pressure
Wine Knowledge
A boutique restaurant in a coastal city was launching and wanted a wine list that showcased regional wines while attracting international diners.
Create a balanced list that highlighted local producers, offered recognizable global labels, and stayed within budget constraints.
I conducted market research on local vineyards, selected flagship regional wines, complemented them with well‑known international varieties, structured the list by price tier, and negotiated favorable terms with distributors.
The final list received praise from critics for its authenticity, increased wine sales by 18% in the first quarter, and helped the restaurant achieve a high wine‑list rating on a major review platform.
- What criteria do you use to decide the proportion of local vs. international wines?
- How do you keep the list fresh without overwhelming the kitchen staff?
- Depth of market research
- Strategic balance of local and global selections
- Cost‑effective sourcing
- Ability to articulate list structure
- Over‑reliance on one region
- Ignoring price diversity
- Research local vineyards and trends
- Select flagship regional wines
- Add globally recognized options for broader appeal
- Organize by price and style
- Negotiate pricing and manage inventory
Our restaurant was considering adding a new Bordeaux vintage, but we needed objective data to justify the purchase.
Conduct a blind tasting that isolates the wine’s quality, style, and compatibility with our menu.
I organized a controlled blind tasting with a panel of trained staff, used standardized scoring sheets covering appearance, nose, palate, and finish, compared the results against benchmark wines, and documented the findings.
The vintage scored 88/100, aligning well with our menu’s flavor profile, leading to a successful addition that boosted Bordeaux sales by 15% over six months.
- How do you handle panel bias during tastings?
- What steps do you take if a wine scores poorly but is a customer favorite?
- Methodical tasting setup
- Use of objective scoring
- Clear recommendation rationale
- Understanding of menu synergy
- Subjective language without data
- Skipping benchmark comparison
- Set up blind tasting environment
- Select benchmark wines
- Use standardized scoring criteria
- Gather panel feedback
- Analyze scores and make recommendation
Operations
At a high‑volume hotel bar, we faced frequent overstock of less‑popular wines leading to spoilage and financial loss.
Implement an inventory system that reduces waste, improves turnover, and maintains variety for guests.
I introduced a first‑in‑first‑out (FIFO) protocol, set minimum and maximum stock levels based on sales data, used weekly analytics to adjust orders, and created a ‘featured wine’ rotation to move slower‑selling bottles.
Waste decreased by 40%, inventory costs dropped 12%, and guest satisfaction scores for wine selection rose by 8%.
- What software or tools do you use for inventory tracking?
- How do you balance the need for rare wines with turnover concerns?
- Data‑driven decision making
- Clear process for stock rotation
- Impact on waste reduction and cost
- Relying solely on intuition for ordering
- Neglecting rare or niche selections
- Analyze sales data to identify turnover rates
- Establish FIFO and stock thresholds
- Use weekly analytics for ordering adjustments
- Promote slower‑moving wines through featured rotations
- wine pairing
- sensory analysis
- inventory management
- customer service
- wine list development
