Wine & Spirits Shop Owner

Also called: Bottle Shop Owner, Wine Merchant

Owns a wine, beer, or spirits shop and chooses every bottle on the shelf.

A day in the life

A wine merchant tastes samples with distributors, writes shelf notes, hosts Friday tastings, and helps a customer pick the perfect bottle for a dinner party.

Pay over a career

Starting

$30k

Typical

$65k

High

$140k

Estimate.

Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.

Training

Certificate, about 2 years after high school. Retail experience; wine certifications (WSET) help; liquor license required.

Ways in: On-the-job training, Certification. Training cost: Under $15k.

Majors to look at: Business, Hospitality Management.

Outlook

Growing slowly. Independent shops compete with big chains.

Will it last? Our AI estimate

Low risk for 10 years. Online wine sales compete, but tastings and personal picks keep loyal customers.

Start now, in high school

Classes: Business, Chemistry, Geography.

• Work retail at a gourmet market
• Compete in DECA's Entrepreneurship events

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Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.