Resume for a Part Time Winery Tasting Room Host

Ralph DeAmicis, Wine Educator

707-235-2364, ralphdeamicis@gmail.comwww.WineCountryinShorts.com/Ralph

I am interested in finding a position as a part-time, or full-time tasting room host. My introduction to the wine country hospitality industry eighteen ago years was unusual. My wife Lahni and I had been running seminars and writing books, and we decided to write one about the architecture of the local wineries. To help with the research I got a part time job driving tours, complete with a black suit and stretch limos. But then my background as a travel writer reemerged, and two years later, we introduced the first edition of our tour book. Now seven editions on, we still haven’t written a book about the buildings. When we realized that we liked the hospitality business, and I couldn’t sell our books out of the back of someone else’s car, we bought our SUV and started Amicis Tours. Now that I could dress in ‘Tommy Bahama’ instead of ‘Men in Black’, I could comfortably sit in the back of the tasting rooms and listen to the hosts. In these two counties we probably have the largest collection of professional wine educators in the world. Most of what I know about wine I learned sitting behind my clients at thousands of tastings and tours. On the road between the wineries. I began to share what I learned with my clients, and I became that guide you recommended for guests and visiting winemakers who were bringing seemingly endless numbers of questions with them. It didn’t hurt that so many guides and concierges use our books for training and reference. Because of the changes in the valley and the tour industry I rarely get to be in the tasting room with the clients anymore. While I appreciate being able to use the time sitting in the car for editing the next edition, it’s not fun. That’s why I want to work in the tasting room, I like the story telling, the education and the sales. I’ve been selling since I was sixteen years old, and I think I’ve finally got the hang of it. So, if you think I sound like a good fit for your team and I’ll be able to educate and sell, let’s chat. Some qualifications: As you can see from my background, leading tours and seminars are tasks I have a lot of experience with. I can lift wine boxes and am skilled at washing dishing and buffing glasses. I have a valid driver’s license and car. My CA Alcoholic Beverage Control certified server number is #313328808. I participate in a drug testing program. I was born in New Jersey and have the right to work in the USA. I’m tech savvy, thoroughly comfortable with computers and have run more credit cards than I can remember. I’m conversant to a greater or lesser degree in multiple languages. I hold a BA and MA in completely unrelated subjects, although I started off in business school and that continues to serve me surprisingly well.
Ralph DeAmicis