Wine Information

I have a question regarding wine tasting?

over this past weekend I went winetasting in Solvang; I didnt go to the actual vineyards, just the wine tasting rooms/retail shops around town cause I didnt drive there. A thing occured to me after I came home. Not the owners, but the workers that pour the tasting glasses and talk about the wines, do they get a commission if they sell one of the bottles you are tasting?

Public Comments

1. It depends. If it's just a marketing thing and the shop's employees are doing the pouring, they probably just make their normal wage. However, often at a wine tasting at a shop, the persons pouring samples are representatives or distributers for the actual winery. In those cases, yes, they make more money if you actually buy the wine.
2. Basically. They work, essentially, for the organization/business that is running the tasting. They get money 1) to be there doing the job and 2) if they sell a wine. They're just like any group of demonstrative salesmen.
3. No, they do not. It is okay to tip a good tasting coordinator. They get paid if the winery does well.
4. None of the wineries I interviewed at were commission based. You get $12 an hour to give tours and pour and make chit-chat.
5. Each place is different. At a winery, it is not commission based, unless the 'pourer' is part owner or something random like that. However, at a retail shop tasting, it would depend on the policy of the shop, so I cannot say for sure. It certainly is possible.