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Wine merchants find new wines and buy and market them.
You could work: evenings / weekends / bank holidays;
In your day-to-day duties you could:
You could work at a store or at a client's business.
You can get into this job through:
You could start in the wine trade as a sales assistant for an off-licence chain, a wine wholesalers or a supermarket.
Experience and qualifications gained through the hospitality sector may be useful in this role.
Business, sales and marketing experience may also be useful.
You can apply directly to get into this job. You'll usually need retail experience and extensive product knowledge to be an independent wine merchant.
You could start work with a large wine retailer as a graduate management trainee, if you have a degree. Employers will accept most subjects.
You could also take training through the Wine & Spirit Education Trust to build up your knowledge of the industry.
You'll need to:
The ability to speak French, Spanish, Portuguese, German or Italian might be useful for working with overseas wine exporters.
You'll find more advice about working in wine retail through the Wine & Spirit Education Trust.
With experience you could become an independent wine merchant. You'll need funds and a well-researched business plan.
You could also progress to become a Master of Wine (MW). This is the British wine trader’s highest qualification.