Wine training your staff use — built around the wines you actually pour.
The problem we solve
Running a wine program shouldn’t compete with running your restaurant. Most properties either don’t have time to build staff wine training, or don’t have a sommelier to lead it — and even those that do often see knowledge stay locked in one person’s head instead of spreading across the team.
We build and manage the entire program for you. You stay focused on service and the business; we handle the training, the testing, and the reporting. Whether you have a sommelier on staff or not, this becomes your wine education engine — for sommelier-led teams, it frees up their time for guests and the list itself, not repeating the basics to every new hire; for teams without one, it’s the wine program you don’t have to build or staff yourself.
Why it works
Built for an industry with high turnover
Hospitality doesn’t stand still — staff come and go. Every new hire steps into a training system that’s already running, so you’re never starting from zero, and wine knowledge never walks out the door with the person who leaves.
Creates a culture, not just a course
Monthly quizzes and visible completion tracking turn wine knowledge into something staff engage with — a little friendly competition, a reason to improve, a shared standard the whole team works toward.
Consistent, no matter who’s on shift
Whether it’s the lunch server or the dinner team, the pool bar or the dining room, everyone trains to the same standard — so guest experience doesn’t depend on who happens to be working that night.
Knowledge built to produce results you can measure
This isn’t training for the sake of knowledge. Because the program is built around the specific wines you want staff to know and sell, you can track how training connects to what’s actually moving on your wine list — not just whether staff learned something.
How it works
Choose your plan
Pick the tier that matches your staff size and your wine list.
Send us your wine list and menu
A PDF of your current list and menu, plus the staff details you’d like included, is all we need to set up your program.
Your team trains and gets tested monthly
Staff move through structured wine lessons at their own pace, then take a monthly quiz built directly from your wine list.
Your wine list refreshes every quarter
We update the program every three months to keep training accurate to what’s actually being poured.
You get monthly reports
A clear report each month on who completed training and how everyone scored — so you always know where your team stands.
You see the impact on sales
Track how the program connects to what’s actually moving on your wine list — not just whether staff learned something.
Pricing
Starter
$200
per month
Under 10 staff
For smaller teams looking to build a strong wine knowledge foundation.
Book a CallTeam
$400
per month
11–25 staff
For growing properties bringing a full floor and bar staff up to speed.
Book a CallProperty
$750
per month
26–75 staff
For full-service restaurants and hotel outlets running larger teams across shifts.
Book a CallEnterprise
Custom
pricing
76+ staff or multiple locations
For hotel groups and multi-property operators. Built around your scale.
Book a CallEvery plan includes
Structured wine training covering core knowledge, styles, and regions
A monthly quiz built from your actual wine list
Monthly reports on staff completion and scores
Coverage for up to 50 of your wines, refreshed every quarter
Bigger wine list?
Extra coverage scales with you
| Additional wines covered | Monthly add-on |
|---|---|
| 51–75 wines | +$125/month |
| 76–100 wines | +$250/month |
| 101–150 wines | +$450/month |
| 150+ wines | Custom quote |
Built by someone who's worked both sides of the wine list
Petar Velickovic spent 15+ years in the wine industry before founding Thirsty & Wise — managing wine programs and leading sommelier teams at hotels including Four Seasons and InterContinental, and working with restaurant teams under celebrity chefs Wolfgang Puck and Jason Atherton.
He later completed the WSET Educator Training Program and co-founded Wine Way, a WSET Approved Program Provider.
That combination — real floor experience at the properties you’re trying to train for, paired with formal education credentials — is what shapes this program. It’s not theory borrowed from a textbook; it’s training built by someone who has stood where your staff stand, in front of the guest, with the wine list in hand.
