Now Hiring: Tasting Room Lead Santa Cruz, CA | Boutique Winery | Full-Time Leadership Role
We’re a family-owned, boutique urban winery in the heart of Santa Cruz, dedicated to crafting small-batch, unmanipulated wines that reflect the time and place of harvest. Our tasting room is more than a space to enjoy wine—it’s a welcoming community hub rooted in genuine hospitality, craftsmanship, and connection.
We’re currently seeking a full-time Tasting Room Lead to oversee the day-to-day operations of our tasting room and lead our front-of-house team. This is a key leadership role that reports directly to the owners and works in close partnership with our Wine Club Manager to support both daily service and club-focused initiatives. The ideal candidate should have a strong passion for wine, excellent leadership skills, and a deep understanding of customer service.
What We Value:
Warm, genuine hospitality
Attention to detail and pride in craftsmanship
Strong communication and a collaborative mindset
Appreciation for wine and community
Role: Tasting Room Lead
Responsibilities:
-Lead daily tasting room operations and create an exceptional guest experience
-Conduct wine tastings, educate customers about different wines, and promote sales by effectively communicating the unique characteristics and qualities of our products
-Train, motivate, and mentor tasting room staff, ensuring they provide exceptional customer service and possess in-depth knowledge of our wines and winemaking processes
-Collaborate with the Wine Club Manager and winemaking team to support member experiences, promotions, and events
-Oversee scheduling and lead biweekly team meetings both virtually and in-person to streamline team efficiency
-Perform opening & closing duties including physical challenges such as moving tables, lifting chairs, vacuuming, and wine bottle restocking
-Maintain a clean and organized tasting room, including the display and arrangement of merchandise and tasting areas
-Assist in coordinating and hosting winery events, private tastings, and club gatherings
-Monitor inventory and coordinate restocking with ownership team
-Serve as a key representative of our winery, both in-house and at off-site events
-Develop and implement effective sales strategies, promotions, and events to increase tasting room traffic, wine club memberships, and overall sales.
-Maintain accurate records of daily sales, customer information, and inventory levels, utilizing a point-of-sale (POS) system and other tracking tools.
-Perform other duties and responsibilities as assigned by the management team.
Ideal Candidate:
-Experience in wine hospitality, leadership, or front-of-house service
-Strong leadership, communication, and organizational skills
-Exceptional customer service and interpersonal skills
-Self-motivated, dependable, and solutions-oriented
-Able to inspire and support a team
-Must be 21+ and able to lift up to 40 lbs, and comfortable standing for long periods of time
-Works Wednesday-Sunday (evenings and weekends required, but no late nights past 10pm)
-Long term residents preferred: we are hoping to establish a lasting professional relationship for the years to come
-Available now: we are hiring immediately and looking to train our new associate in July
Equal Employment Opportunity
It is the policy of the Company to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and employment applicants without regard to unlawful considerations of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, sensory, physical, or mental disability, marital status, veteran or military status, genetic information, or any other classification protected by applicable local, state, or federal laws. This policy applies to all aspects of employment, including, but not limited to, hiring, job assignment, compensation, promotion, benefits, training, discipline, and termination. Reasonable accommodation is available for qualified individuals with disabilities, upon request.
This job description is intended to convey information essential to understanding the scope of the position and is not an exhaustive list of skills, efforts, duties, responsibilities, or working conditions associated with it.
To Apply: Reply to this posting with your resume and a brief note introducing yourself. We’d love to hear why you’re excited about this opportunity.