Shady Lane Cellars is an Estate winery in the Leelanau Peninsula AVA. Situated in the hills above Grand

Traverse Bay, we produce approximately 7,000 cases of estate red and white wines from a 70-acre SIP

sustainable) certified vineyard. Shady Lane is known for its cool climate white and red varietal wines.

Job Description :

This position requires an enthusiastic and dynamic leader responsible for delighting our guests and achieving

our tasting room and event financial goals. This position oversees all aspects of the tasting room as well as

event sales & operations. This individual works with our staff, providing regular visible leadership and

coaching, to ensure that our team is consistently delivering exceptional service consistent with the Shady Lane

Cellars (SLC) brand standards. This position will set the tone of our hospitality team with initial onboarding

and training of new staff, as well as coordinating continued education for the hospitality team. This position

also serves as a key member of the Shady Lane Cellars leadership team.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities include but are not limited to :

Tasting Room

Demonstrates dynamic leadership skills with the ability to lead, coach and motivate a part-time

workforce to meet the SLC service expectations and delivery on Hospitality financial goals.

Coordinates with the team to create and execute initiatives and campaigns that support tasting room

service and financial goals.

Effectively assists with onboarding, manages training and continuing education process, and

coordinates training components with other managers as needed, including alcoholic beverage server

training.

Provides effective communication to staff to ensure up-to-date knowledge on wines, winery and

vineyard events, as well as any other pertinent information for staff to aid in providing high quality

customer service.

Maintains in-depth knowledge about wine, winemaking techniques and our vineyard and

communicates this knowledge with clarity and passion.

• Collaborates with the team on a regular basis to help coordinate implementation of guest experiences.
• Collaborates with Ecommerce and Wine Club Manager to help implement ecommerce sales and wine

club initiatives.

Works with the team to plan and execute merchandise directives and seasonal campaigns that highlight

and promote wine, food, and merchandise in the tasting room.

Oversees daily operation of the tasting room by managing Key Holders, to establish and communicate

daily priorities to Tasting Room staff.

Works with the General Manager to create and manage within a payroll budget that maintains a high

level of customer service while maximizing productivity.

Writes staff schedules that reflect business / hospitality goals, monitors and revises staffing levels and

approves payroll weekly.

Demonstrates desired behaviors for staff including customer service, driving sales, cash controls, and

follow-up with customers.

When scheduled on the floor; serve as the host in the busy season, oversee flow of customer and

employee activity, and serve as the initial contact for customer concerns while performing standard

tasting room duties.

Open and close the Tasting Room when scheduled. Perform opening duty checklist, prepare cash

drawers, performs morning walk around duties. Manage closing duties, prepare deposit and ensure a

timely, accurate, and efficient closing process.

Ensures that monthly routine checklists are completed and maintains a high standard for cleanliness

and organization.

Maintain existing department resources (menus & descriptions, wine lists, wine tasting notes, vendor

resources / catalogs, etc.).

SLC In-House Events

Creatively develop, schedule, and execute in-house, wine-centric events to support tasting room sales

live music, wine club parties, wine dinners, etc.).

• Coordinate with vendors to establish services (music, entertainment, catering, etc.) and pricing.
• Coordinate and execute Leelanau Peninsula Wine Trail events that SLC has committed to participate in.
• Build all in-house events with a conscious budget to create greater sales margins.

Private & Semi-Private Events

• Creatively sell all event spaces and work with marketing to establish a compelling sales presentation.
• Curate, coordinate, and manage designated events from point of contract to hands-on execution
• Schedule and conduct site tours with prospective clients.
• Collect all payments (including deposit, balance, and addendum) and correspond with Accounting

Department when necessary to facilitate and ensure receipt of payments.

Create organized and detailed Banquet Event Orders (BEOs) to be shared with the SLC leadership team

to ensure smooth execution the day of event.

Maintain correspondence and handle all details of event with client throughout event preparation and

execution to ensure clients’ needs are met and / or exceeded.

• Oversee appropriate set-up, duration, and tear-down of event.
• Work directly with 3rd party caterers to ensure execution in concert with our team.
• Establish and maintain department efficiency and organization (upcoming events, events in progress,

completed events, beverage logs, etc., archive files as appropriate).

Education & Experience :

• The ideal candidate will have 2-3 years of experience in a similar role.
• Appreciation and understanding of wine and food, with the desire for greater experience and

continued education.

• Knowledge and experience with alcohol handling, safety, and training.
• Knowledge and experience with food handling, safety, and training.
• Knowledge and experience with team leadership and education.
• Knowledge and experience with budget development and follow through.
• Background in planning, strategizing, and executing events from start to finish.
• Proficiency in Word, Excel, Gmail, Google Docs, Meta, and Canva.
• Professional and effective interpersonal leadership, and communication skills, both written and oral.
• Ability to work flexible schedule including nights and weekends.
• Results oriented with exceptional attention to detail and strong organizational skills.
• Proven ability to delight guests.

Physical Requirements :

• Must be able to carry 35 pounds at a time
• Must be able to remain in a stationary position more than 50% of the day
• Frequently required to sit, stand, walk, stoop and kneel
• Must be able to effectively converse and exchange information

Last updated : 2024-05-21