Wine Taster CV: Example and Template
How to structure your CV as a wine taster for Swiss wine trading houses, wineries, tasting panels and retail.
Currently 3 open Wine Taster positions in Switzerland, across 1 cantons. Coop advertises the most.
CV example — two-page template
This template is editable straight away — or upload your existing CV and it is carried into this layout automatically.
What training do I need to become a wine taster in Switzerland?
There is no protected title 'wine taster', so demonstrate your competence with basic training in viticulture plus a sensory qualification and a wine-specialist qualification.
The classic entry point is the EFZ as a wine technologist or winegrower, a hotel management school with a sommelier focus, or a degree in oenology (Changins in Nyon, HAFL Zollikofen, food technology at ZHAW Wädenswil). Building on this, you obtain the Federal Diploma (FA) as a wine specialist, WSET Level 3 or the WSET Diploma (Wine Academic), or a CAS in sensory analysis. Write these titles exactly as they appear on the diploma, and add the year and institution - HR staff in wineries and the wine trade know the differences precisely.
For panel and laboratory positions, proof of sensory aptitude is more important than any title. So mention examinations according to ISO 8586 and ISO 3591, passed ring trials for wine fault detection, your detection thresholds for TCA, Brettanomyces, volatile acidity or reduction, and the number of panelists you have trained. If you want to work in retail or import, also list your knowledge of the Wine Ordinance, the FDHA Beverage Ordinance, AOC regulations and the procedures of the Swiss Wine Trade Control.
Order the education section by relevance, not just by date: the sensory or wine-specialist qualification goes at the top, basic training below. Mention ongoing training with the planned completion date, for example "WSET Diploma, Unit 3 passed, completion 2026". Courses without an examination belong under further training, not among the diplomas.
How do I build a convincing employment history in my CV?
For each position, describe the company context in one line, followed by three to four results with figures from tasting, release and range management.
The task 'tasting wines' says nothing. What matters are quantities and impact: number of samples tasted per year, number of batches released, size and variance of your panel, volume of purchasing managed in CHF, number of items in the range, complaint or return rate. For example, write "Released 1'150 batches per year, reduced complaints due to wine faults from 1.9 to 0.6 percent" instead of "responsible for quality control".
Show the whole chain from sample to shelf or wine list. Name the scoring system (OIV 100-point, 20-point scale, in-house scale), the testing methodology (triangle test, ranking test, descriptive profiling) and the link to laboratory analysis with free and total SO2, total acidity, pH and residual sugar. Add your range of varieties: Chasselas, Petite Arvine, Cornalin, Humagne Rouge, Completer, Räuschling, Merlot del Ticino, as well as your international areas of focus.
For tasters with a dual role in purchasing, communication or training, a short section on tasting leadership, jury work and professional publications is worthwhile: number of customer tastings led, participant numbers, competition juries and awards received by wines you co-managed. This information sets you apart from applicants who have only tasted internally.
How long should the CV be, and does it need a photo?
Two pages is the standard; a professional portrait photo is customary in Switzerland and effectively expected for customer-facing wine positions.
Stick to two pages: header with location, citizenship or permit, email and mobile number, then profile, at-a-glance facts, employment history, sensory competencies, education, certificates and languages. If you have more than fifteen years of experience, condense older positions into one line. A photo in business attire with a neutral background belongs in the top right corner; for positions involving tasting leadership, media contact or wine consulting, a CV without a photo tends to look incomplete in Switzerland.
Pay attention to Swiss expectations for completeness: statement of citizenship or residence permit, category B driving licence, availability date and - if requested - salary expectations. Realistic ranges, depending on region and responsibility, are between CHF 78'000 and CHF 105'000; as a panel leader or purchasing manager with leadership responsibilities, CHF 110'000 to CHF 125'000 is possible. Attach work references and diploma copies as a separate PDF, not within the CV itself.
Adapt language and focus to the region: in Romandie and Ticino, apply in French or Italian respectively and present your tasting vocabulary in that language. Save the file as "CV_Surname_WineTaster.pdf", use CHF amounts with an apostrophe such as CHF 85'000, and check that variety names, designations of origin and technical standards are spelled correctly - this is exactly what professionals in this industry look at first.
Where Wine Taster are hired in Switzerland
How the 3 open positions are spread across the cantons.
Figures as a table
| Canton | postings |
|---|---|
| Bern | 2 |
Which languages the postings require
Of 3 postings that state a language — in brackets, those requiring professional level.
Figures as a table
| Language | postings |
|---|---|
| German | 3 (3) |
Who hires Wine Taster in Switzerland
Employers with the most open positions. Staffing agencies are excluded.
Figures as a table
| Employer | postings |
|---|---|
| Coop | 3 |
Full-time or part-time?
How the positions are advertised.
Figures as a table
| Workload | postings |
|---|---|
| Vollzeit / plein temps | 3 |
The CV in full
To read through and reuse.
Lukas Brunschwiler
Wine Taster / Sensory Panel Leader, Wine Academic (WSET Diploma) & Wine Specialist (Federal Diploma FA)
Wine taster with eleven years of experience in descriptive sensory analysis, purchasing tastings and quality release of still, sparkling and sweet wines. I run tasting panels according to ISO 8586 and ISO 3591, score using the OIV 100-point scale, and consistently link tasting judgement with laboratory values such as free SO2, total acidity, pH and residual sugar. Most recently I was responsible for a range of 640 items from Valais, Vaud, German-speaking Switzerland and Ticino, as well as a purchasing volume of CHF 12.4 million.
What sets me apart
Wine Fault Diagnostics with Threshold-Level Reliability: Detection thresholds for TCA (cork taint), Brettanomyces, volatile acidity, reduction and oxidation confirmed in an Agroscope ring trial; TCA detection from 1.6 ng/l, reducing the complaint rate for bottled wines from 1.9 to 0.6 percent.
Swiss Grape Varieties as a Specialty: In-depth tasting experience with Chasselas, Petite Arvine, Amigne, Cornalin, Humagne Rouge, Completer, Räuschling and Merlot del Ticino; built an aroma profile grid for 24 indigenous varieties across 6 vintages.
Linking Sensory Analysis and Laboratory Data: Interpretation of FTIR and HPLC data together with panel judgement; developed a correlation model between perceived sweetness and the residual sugar/acidity ratio for 310 samples, reducing release deviations by 28 percent.
Solid Grounding in Declaration and Wine Law: Review of labels and AOC information according to the Swiss Wine Ordinance and the FDHA Beverage Ordinance, accompanied 3 inspections by the Swiss Wine Trade Control (SWK) without objection.
Key achievements
Blind Tasting Process Redesigned. Converted purchasing tastings to a two-stage blind tasting with ISO 3591 glasses and coded samples: 2'450 samples per year assessed in a structured way, increasing the hit rate of new range additions (sales above plan) from 54 to 79 percent.
Panel Calibrated and Variance Halved. Selected 14 panelists according to ISO 8586 and trained them across 22 training sessions; reduced the panel's standard deviation from 1.4 to 0.7 points (on the 100-point scale), with triangle tests achieving 92 percent correct discrimination.
Range Rationalisation with Margin Impact. Assessed 640 items sensorially and commercially, delisted 96 wines and added 48 new ones; improved gross margin by 3.1 percentage points, generating additional revenue of CHF 1.8 million in the first year.
Experience
Wine Taster & Sensory Panel Leader — Vinaria Helvetica AG, Zurich, since 03/2019
Wine trading house with own imports, 640 items, CHF 18 million turnover, in-house sensory laboratory with 8 booths.
- Tasted 6'800 wines per year and documented them in the sensory database, including 2'450 purchasing samples from 11 countries of origin.
- Built a 14-person tasting panel according to ISO 8586, reducing variance from 1.4 to 0.7 points.
- Quality release for 1'150 batches per year; reduced complaints due to wine faults from 1.9 to 0.6 percent.
- Led 24 customer tastings and 6 professional seminars per year, 1'400 participants, 94 percent recommendation rate.
Assistant Cellar Master & Taster — Cave du Rhône Panorama SA, Sierre VS, 08/2015 - 02/2019
AOC Valais winery, 2.3 million litres annual production, 19 wines in the range.
- Co-tasted cuvée blends for 19 wines; the 2017 vintage received 3 awards (89-92 points) in national competitions.
- Weekly barrel sample checks of 220 barriques and 34 steel tanks, reducing reduction faults by 41 percent.
- Introduced an analytical-sensory protocol for free SO2, total acidity and pH, shortening release time per batch from 6 to 3.5 days.
- Positioned Petite Arvine and Cornalin as a premium line, raising the bottle price by CHF 4.50 while maintaining stable sales of 34'000 bottles.
Sommelier & Wine Purchasing — Hotel Bellavista Seehalde AG, Lucerne, 09/2012 - 07/2015
4-star superior hotel with 2 restaurants, wine list with 380 items, wine cellar with 9'200 bottles.
- Condensed the wine list from 380 to 260 curated items, increasing wine revenue by 22 percent to CHF 1.1 million.
- Introduced glass-pour wine service with 14 items and argon systems, reducing wastage from 6.2 to 1.8 percent.
- Kept inventory discrepancy in the cellar (9'200 bottles) below 0.4 percent, improving stock turnover from 2.1 to 3.4.
- Trained 180 service staff in tasting vocabulary and food pairing, 12 training sessions per year.
Education
Wine Academic (WSET Diploma in Wines), Wine, viticulture and sensory analysis — Weinakademie Österreich, Rust · 2018
Federal Diploma (FA), Wine Specialist / Sommelier — Federal Vocational Examination for Wine Specialists, Switzerland · 2015
CAS in Sensory Analysis, Food sensory analysis and panel leadership — ZHAW Wädenswil · 2017
EFZ, Wine Technologist (Cellar Management specialization) — Vocational School Wädenswil / Training company Vaud · 2012
WSET Level 3 Award in Wines with Distinction (2016) · Sensory Panel Leader according to ISO 8586, Agroscope Changins-Wädenswil (2018) · Wine Fault Detection Ring Trial, passed (annually, most recently in 2024) · Jury member, Grand Prix format for Swiss wines (since 2020)