Retail and Tasting Room Manager

Join us as our Retail and Tasting Room Manager

Are you ready to play a key role in creating exceptional guest experiences? As our Retail and Tasting Room Manager, you will serve as a central leader in our continued growth, combining strong leadership, operational expertise, and a passion for hospitality to shape guest experiences that resonate with a range of wine enthusiasts.

In this role, you will oversee a dynamic set of responsibilities: leading and developing our team, optimizing daily operations, and delivering elevated guest experiences. From curating memorable tasting room interactions to driving behind-the-scenes strategy, you will set the standard for excellence across both the Hermann J. Wiemer and Standing Stone Tasting Rooms.

Who We Are

Founded in 1979, Hermann J. Wiemer is a pioneer of viticulture and winemaking in the Finger Lakes. We farm over 200 acres of estate vineyards to create some of the region’s most acclaimed wines including Riesling, Cabernet Franc, sparkling, and dessert wines. We believe great wine comes from working alongside nature to cultivate resilient vineyards and continue to push the limits of sustainable farming and winemaking as the only Biodynamically certified winery on the East Coast.

At the core of our guest experience is a commitment to education, expressed through long-format tastings, private library experiences, educational seminars, and immersive vineyard tours designed to connect visitors to the how and why behind our work.

Vision Statement - We envision a future where quality drives innovation, sustainability shapes progress, and collaboration fuels success, while fostering a culture of respect that values diversity, integrity, and shared growth.

Job Title: Retail and Tasting Room Manager

Classification​: Exempt, Full-Time, Salaried, Benefits-Eligible

Reports to: Director of Retail Operations, Marketing and Sales

Key Responsibilities

• Leadership & Team Development – Inspire and manage a passionate team, ensuring top-tier service and a positive workplace.
• Retail & Hospitality Oversight – Elevate guest experiences for everything from casual visits to educational events.
• Sales & Marketing Collaboration – Work closely with our creative team to drive guest attendance, retail sales and engagement.
• Financial & Inventory Management – Monitors sales, labor and inventory to keep operations efficient and profitable while holding to a high standard of quality.

Job Description/Scope of Work

Summary:

The Retail and Tasting Room Manager is responsible for the day to day operations of both the Hermann J. Wiemer and Standing Stone Tasting Rooms including but not limited to: operational logistics, retail staff management, hospitality and guest experience, and the promotion of sales and activity at both locations in collaboration with the Marketing and Leadership team.

Responsibilities:

Operations and Logistics

The Retail and Tasting Room Manager coordinates daily retail operations at both the Hermann J. Wiemer and Standing Stone Tasting Rooms. They are responsible for organizing daily service at each space and ensuring their success each day.

• Ensures all retail spaces are ready for each business day and supplied with the people and items needed for success.
• Oversees operational aspects and ensures proper procedure is maintained with reservation and point of sale systems including end of day reports and cash procedures.
• Manages inventory and ordering for retail and tasting room supplies. Coordinates with the Winery Team on maintaining retail wine inventory and with the Food Program Lead on maintaining proper perishable inventories.
• Engages with the whole Hermann J. Wiemer and Standing Stone team in all aspects of the Retail and Tasting Room workload including events, tours, direct to consumer shipping and industry experiences.
• As the winery’s in person experiences are centered around weekend visits, the position works most weekends and is not a Monday through Friday role.
• Works with the leadership team to forecast sales and visitation in order to use that data to ensure efficient use of labor and

Staff Supervision and Training

This position oversees all retail employees and is responsible for managing their training, scheduling and performance.

• Acts as a leader for the team and models good team behavior.
• Trains all staff on the key components of our retail space, from great hospitality, wine service, food preparation, point of sale and reservation systems training.
• Prepares the weekly staffing schedule and coordinates with retail staff on their availability and time off requests.
• Encourages growth and development of our team through direct engagement, problem solving and regular check-ins.
• Ensures responsible beverage service is being provided. All staff are expected to follow recommended best practices for responsible sales and consumption.

Guest Relations and Experience

The Retail and Tasting Room Manager is the lead in creating memorable guest experiences for our visitors from start to finish and has a keen awareness for great hospitality and small details. They ensure guests are well informed ahead of their visit, attended to during their stay and followed up with as needed after their departure.

• Ensures guests experience superior customer service that is genuine, warm, friendly, courteous and professional.
• Handles general guest inquiries and any pre-visit communication and helps resolve any follow up concerns.
• Maintains an awareness for repeat guests, wine club members, industry members, and VIPs and ensures proper tailored experiences and hospitality are provided.
• Maintains working knowledge of Hermann J. Wiemer and Standing Stone wines, viticultural practices and winemaking processes.
• Takes part in the creative and iterative process of developing new ideas and experiences for our guests.

Expectations:

Important Skills/Abilities for this position:

• Great communication skills
• Highly organized and skilled at creating organization for others
• Hospitality focused with honed customer service skills
• Professional writing acumen
• Technologically proficient with literacy in spreadsheets, word processors, POS systems and reservation software
• Leads by example
• Willingness to work most weekends

What Hermann J. Wiemer and Standing Stone looks for in an employee:

• Personable and professional
• Diligent and detail-oriented
• Deadline-focused and goal-driven
• Resourceful
• Critical thinking skills in regards to problem solving and a solutions-oriented mindset
• Adaptable and flexible
• High level of integrity
• Collaborative and a team-player
• Self-motivated with strong management skills and thorough follow-through
• Willing to work until the task is completed, even if it means extra time
• Understanding of company vision, mission, and culture

Required Education and Experience

• High school diploma or GED (required) with a Bachelor’s Degree (preferred).
• Hospitality or customer service experience within the wine industry or a retail environment (5 years).
• Working wine knowledge (preferred) with a willingness to learn more (required).

Work Environment

This job operates in a beverage service and retail shop setting using standard restaurant and retail shop equipment and interacts with customers throughout the day.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear. The employee frequently is required to stand for long periods of time, walk throughout the day including going up and down stairs and lift at least 40 lbs.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Position Type and Expected Hours of Work

Exempt, Full-Time, Salaried, Benefits-Eligible with an expectation of 45 hours worked per week and includes weekend work.

There is a 90 day probation period for all employees.

Other Duties

Please note this scope of work is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Pay: $60,000.00 - $65,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• Dental insurance
• Employee discount
• Flexible schedule
• Health insurance
• Paid sick time
• Paid time off
• Tuition reimbursement

Work Location: In person

Salary : $60,000 - $65,000