Tasting Associate Jobs in Kentucky (NOW HIRING)

Reporting to the Director of Tasting Rooms, the Assistant Tasting Room Manager is responsible for helping lead the daily operations of the tasting room while creating an exceptional luxury hospitality experience that reflects the heritage, quality, and values of Wente Family Estates.
This is a hands-on leadership role responsible for developing people, driving sales performance, executing operational excellence, and ensuring every guest leaves feeling welcomed, connected, and inspired by our wines and our story.
The Assistant Tasting Room Manager serves as a visible floor leader who coaches associate’s in real time, builds a culture of accountability, and consistently raises the standard of service. This role works collaboratively across Hospitality, Wine Club, Marketing, Culinary, Events, and Winery Operations to deliver memorable guest experiences while supporting the growth of the Direct-to-Consumer business.
Successful leaders demonstrate professionalism, humility, urgency, and a passion for hospitality. They inspire their teams through servant leadership, embrace continuous improvement, and lead by example in every guest interaction.

Wine is evolving, and so is the guest experience. This role is about bridging heritage and modern hospitality, ensuring every visitor feels connected to the winery's story while creating memorable, welcoming experiences that resonate with today’s consumers.

As an Assistant Tasting Room Manager, you'll play a key role in bringing the brand to life through guest engagement, team leadership, and operational excellence. For the right candidate, this is an opportunity to gain hands-on management experience, build meaningful relationships with guests and colleagues, and develop the skills needed to grow a successful career in the wine industry.

You’ll have the chance to make a direct impact on the tasting room experience, contribute to business growth, and help shape how one of America's most storied wineries connects with both loyal customers and the next generation of wine enthusiasts.

• Lead the tasting room floor by example while maintaining exceptional hospitality standards.
• Foster a culture where every guest feels genuinely welcomed, valued, and personally connected to the Wente Family Estates story.
• Ensure every guest receives a memorable, personalized experience that exceeds expectations.
• Coach associates in real time to elevate hospitality, storytelling, and wine presentation.
• Resolve guest concerns professionally while creating positive recovery experiences.
• Maintain luxury hospitality standards throughout all guest touchpoints.
• Protect and elevate the Wente Family Estates brand through consistent execution.

• Assist in the daily operation of the tasting room, ensuring efficient, organized, and profitable operations.
• Support opening and closing procedures.
• Ensure all Standard Operating Procedures are followed.
• Monitor labor and staffing levels to maximize guest service while managing labor costs.
• Assist with scheduling and shift assignments based on business demands.
• Ensure proper cash handling, POS accuracy, inventory controls, and financial accountability.
• Maintain cleanliness, organization, merchandising, and visual presentation throughout the property.
• Oversee reservation flow utilizing Tock and Commerce7 to maximize guest experiences.
• Assist with inventory counts, transfers, ordering, and wine allocations.

• Drive achievement of monthly, quarterly, and annual sales goals.
• Coach associates to increase Average Order Value (AOV), wine sales, and club conversions through storytelling and personalized recommendations.
• Support execution of sales promotions, seasonal campaigns, and new product launches.
• Monitor daily business performance and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Analyze key performance indicators and coach the team toward measurable results.
• Partner with leadership to achieve Direct-to-Consumer revenue goals.

• Lead by example in introducing guests to Wine Club membership.
• Coach associates on identifying buying signals and creating authentic membership conversations.
• Build long-term guest relationships that encourage repeat visitation.
• Support club retention initiatives and member engagement.
• Ensure club members consistently receive elevated recognition and service.

• Recruit, interview, onboard, and develop hospitality professionals.
• Conduct engaging daily pre-shift meetings focused on hospitality, wine education, sales initiatives, safety, and operational updates.
• Provide continuous coaching, recognition, and performance feedback.
• Complete performance reviews and development plans.
• Foster an inclusive, collaborative culture built on accountability and mutual respect.
• Identify future leaders and assist with succession planning.
• Maintain accurate scheduling, payroll, and labor documentation.

• Ensure associates confidently communicate Wente Family Estates' history, wines, vineyards, sustainability practices, and hospitality experiences.
• Promote storytelling that creates emotional connections rather than transactional sales.
• Deliver consistent luxury hospitality reflects our five-generation family legacy.
• Partner with Marketing and Events to execute special experiences and brand activations.
• Support winery tours, club events, wine dinners, concerts, and VIP experiences.

• Assist in managing departmental budgets and labor expenses.
• Monitor daily sales, discounts, voids, inventory variances, and financial controls.
• Prepare reports related to sales performance, labor, inventory, and guest metrics.
• Ensure compliance with company policies and internal controls.

• Promote a culture where safety is everyone's responsibility.
• Ensure compliance with responsible alcohol service, food safety, OSHA, and company safety standards.
• Participate in incident investigations and corrective actions.
• Conduct daily safety observations and ensure associates follow safe work practices.
• Maintain emergency preparedness procedures.

• Requires the ability to walk and stand, for potentially long periods of time throughout the workday.
• Must be able to lift 50lbs.
• Moderate to heavy physical work including but not limited to bending, stretching, grabbing and reaching (moving wine cases and retail supplies, setting up for special events)
• Manual dexterity and vision sufficient to operate a computer for potentially long periods of time without experiencing abnormal hand, wrist or eye strain.
• Hearing sufficient to understand conversations, both in person and on the telephone.
• Must have coordination sufficient to operate various office machines, including but not limited to fax machines, calculators, telephones, computers, scanners, cash register, etc.
• Repetitive bending, stretching and reaching.

• Management or supervisory experience in a hospitality, restaurant, or retail environment required
• Proven ability to meet and exceed sales goals
• Food and beverage operations experience, desired
• Background in the wine/special events, desired
• A love for wine and hospitality and the desire to exceed guest expectations
• Strong leadership skills: ability to inspire your team and maintain a commitment to exceeding guest expectations.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Strong organizational, problem-solving, and analytical skills; demonstrated ability to calculate figures and amounts such as discounts, interest, commissions, and percentages.
• Versatility, flexibility, and a willingness to work within constantly changing priorities with enthusiasm.
• Professional appearance and demeanor
• Good judgment with the ability to make timely and sound decisions
• Demonstrated ability to make successful presentations to individuals and/or groups.
• Success in supervising and motivating employees
• Ability to take initiative with minimal direction: own your projects and goals and hold yourself accountable for achieving them
• Must be least 21 years of age.

The environment within the office is clean and well lit. The tasting room is clean, and maintains a temperature of 68 degrees (+/-). Will be required to go out-of-doors and into various parts of the facility subjecting the incumbent to variations in temperature and humidity.

Supports economic sustainability by staying on top of expired products and using them first and foremost. Calculating and entering inventory data regularly in order to forecast future orders and budgets. As well as conserving electricity to help the company be more cost-efficient.

This position description does not promise or imply that the functions listed are the only duties to be performed or that the position may not change, or be eliminated. Employees are always expected to follow their supervisors’ instructions and to perform the tasks requested by their supervisors.

Equal Opportunity Employer
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws.For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.