Wine sommelier to botanicals specialist
A wine sommelier already meets 28% of what the botanicals specialist role asks for. The move turns on 8 required skills not yet in the profile.
65/ 100
1 How much of what a botanicals specialist is expected to do is already part of a wine sommelier’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the botanicals specialist role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A botanicals specialist role treats 4 of its required skills as things a wine sommelier already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- apply GMP
- apply HACCP
- apply requirements concerning manufacturing of food and beverages
- perform sensory evaluation of food products
What stands in the way is 8 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 4 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A botanicals specialist role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a wine sommelier background worth leading with.
- already held perform sensory evaluation of food products information skills
- already held apply GMP assisting and caring
- already held apply HACCP assisting and caring
- already held apply requirements concerning manufacturing of food and beverages assisting and caring
All 4 carried skills, including the 4 the botanicals specialist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 14 missing skills fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn analyse samples of food and beverages required
- still to learn examine production samples required
- optional, not held analyse work-related written reports optional
- still to learn botany required
- still to learn variety of botanicals required
- optional, not held percolation optional
- still to learn create beverage recipes with botanicals required
- optional, not held conduct extensive international travel optional
- optional, not held write routine reports optional
- still to learn laboratory-based sciences required
- optional, not held effects of pesticides in food raw materials optional
- optional, not held ingredient threats optional
- still to learn collect samples for analysis required
- still to learn tend botanical milling machines required
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a botanicals specialist role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 create beverage recipes with botanicals practise this
- 02 tend botanical milling machines practise this
- 03 analyse samples of food and beverages practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 4 skills that carry over
- already held apply GMP skill
- already held apply HACCP skill
- already held apply requirements concerning manufacturing of food and beverages skill
- already held perform sensory evaluation of food products skill
6 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held effects of pesticides in food raw materials optional
- optional, not held ingredient threats optional
- optional, not held analyse work-related written reports optional
- optional, not held conduct extensive international travel optional
- optional, not held percolation optional
- optional, not held write routine reports optional
24 held skills the botanicals specialist role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role act reliably skill
- not needed by the target role analyse trends in the food and beverage industries skill
- not needed by the target role apply extensive study of wine types skill
- not needed by the target role chemical constitution of grapes knowledge
- not needed by the target role decant wines skill
- not needed by the target role describe flavour of different wines skill
- not needed by the target role ensure adequate conditions in wine cellars skill
- not needed by the target role fermentation processes of beverages knowledge
- not needed by the target role have computer literacy skill
- not needed by the target role host wine-tasting events skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with colleagues skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with managers skill
- not needed by the target role maintain food specifications skill
- not needed by the target role maintain relationship with customers skill
- not needed by the target role maintain updated professional knowledge skill
- not needed by the target role match food with wine skill
- not needed by the target role perform public relations skill
- not needed by the target role stay abreast of wine trends skill
- not needed by the target role store wine skill
- not needed by the target role taste wines skill
- not needed by the target role types of wine knowledge
- not needed by the target role variety of grapes knowledge
- not needed by the target role wine fermentation process knowledge
- not needed by the target role write work-related reports skill
6 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn botany required
- still to learn variety of botanicals required
- still to learn laboratory-based sciences required
- optional, not held effects of pesticides in food raw materials optional
- optional, not held ingredient threats optional
- optional, not held percolation optional
Common questions about this move
Can a wine sommelier become a botanicals specialist?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A wine sommelier already covers 28% of what a botanicals specialist is expected to do: 4 skills carry over, 4 of which the botanicals specialist role treats as required.
What skills does a wine sommelier need to become a botanicals specialist?
8 required skills are missing, plus 6 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is create beverage recipes with botanicals.
How hard is the move from wine sommelier to botanicals specialist?
Its learning distance is 65 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.