In Mainland China, there are a number of steps that sommeliers can take to give a real boost to their careers. In some cases, these steps include earning certificates or titles to showcase their impressive wine knowledge; in other cases, it involves searching out new job opportunities that can give them the opportunity to build an extensive new wine program at a prestigious hotel or restaurant. Here are just a few of most popular ways to give a boost to a sommelier career.

Earn A Title Or Certificate

Within the global wine industry, there are several titles, certificates and distinctions that are accepted all over the world as a mark of quality. The highest prestige title is Master Sommelier (MS), which is awarded by the Court of Master Sommeliers. There are only a handful of Master Sommeliers in the world, so a far more accessible title might be Master of Wine (MW). The first (and thus far, only) MW in Mainland China is Fongyee Walker. There are also four Masters of Wine in Hong Kong. Moreover, you could also study for a certificate from the Wine & Spirits Educational Trust (WSET), which has made a real push to improve the overall level of wine knowledge and education in China.

Attend and Participate In Global Wine Events

If you are looking to make your mark on the Chinese wine industry, one place to start is with international wine and sommelier competitions that are typically held in Beijing and Shanghai. Outside of China, the Hong Kong International Wine & Spirits competition is considered an industry leader, and within Mainland China, events sponsored by Beverage Trade Network – such as the China Wine Competition in Shanghai – are also great ways to network with wine insiders and find new opportunities. Most of these events have judging panels, which gives young sommeliers a real opportunity to showcase their knowledge, skill and sophistication in the world of wine.

Work For An International Renowned Restaurant Or Hotel

If you look at lists of “top sommeliers in Shanghai” or “top sommeliers in China,” one fact becomes apparent very quickly: the most famous and respected sommeliers all work at high-end restaurants or hotels that are favorites with Western expats. In Shanghai, the place to be right now is the Bund, which is home to top sommeliers at L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon and Noah’s Yacht Club. Elsewhere in Shanghai, top places to work for sommeliers include the Four Seasons Hotel, the Pudong Shangri-La, and the NAPA Wine Bar & Kitchen. Given the importance of Burgundy and Bordeaux wines to the overall Chinese wine scene, it’s a safe bet that any new French restaurant or bistro in any large Chinese city would be a great way to build a sommelier career.

Launch New Wine-related Ventures

Of course, you have plenty of other options rather than just working for a restaurant or hotel. You can also launch a wine-related venture of your own. That’s the strategy used by top sommelier Fongyee Walker, who launched Dragon Phoenix Wine Consulting, and fellow sommelier Terry Xu, who launched the Aroma Republic consultancy.

You could also launch a wine bar of your own. Or, if you’d prefer to run everything online, you could also launch an online wine e-commerce site, along the lines of the wildly popular Vinehoo. At the very least, you could look for ways to partner with existing online wine communities and offer your expertise on wine as a key selling point.

Become An Online Wine Writer

A number of top Chinese wine publications – such as Decanter China – are highly visible within the sommelier community. If you can write a regular wine column, for example, you can really differentiate yourself from the competition. And, of course, you could go one big step beyond just a series of wine columns and actually write a wine book. That’s the strategy used by top sommelier Kent Tsang, the founder of The Black Wine Guide.

Become a Wine KOL

Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) are enormously important within China. While many of the best-known Chinese KOLs are in the beauty, lifestyle, and travel niches, there are also a growing number of wine KOLs. To get started as a wine KOL, you’ll need to have a presence on Weibo or WeChat.

That’s the strategy used by Wang Shenghan (better known as Drunk Mother Goose), who parlayed her prolific presence on Weibo into a mini-wine empire. She now operates the Lady Penguin online wine community, a sort of hybrid between a wine club and a social media wine site. Lady Penguin hosts events in 12 cities, has over 1.5 million fans and followers, and has 8,000 wine club members. Moreover, the highly popular “wine shows” hosted by Drunk Mother Goose have been viewed over 200 million times on a cumulative basis.

Foreign wine brands are very much looking for a way to access the Chinese wine market, and one key option for them is now partnering with a wine KOL with deep ties to Chinese wine drinkers. Wine Australia, for example, famously partnered with the Chufei Churan twins to promote Australian wines.

Attend Industry Tastings and Wine Dinners

Connections matter a lot in China, and that’s why becoming a regular at industry tastings and brand-sponsored wine dinners can be a great way to raise your profile as a sommelier within China. One way to boost your image is by championing a new wine style, a new wine variety, or a new winemaking technique. Thus, if all of your fellow sommeliers are focusing on Bordeaux and Burgundy, why not choose to focus on another French grape variety like Syrah? Or why not leverage the whole health and wellness trend in order to promote the benefits of natural or organic wines?

As you can see, there are a variety of ways to give a boost to your sommelier career. The two most obvious ways are to earn a prestigious certificate or to work for a five-star hotel. However, you can also become a rising star in the world of Chinese sommeliers by embracing social media platforms, becoming a regular at events and competitions, and by sharing your wine expertise with the broader public via writing or educational initiatives.