How much does a wine broker make?

A job as a wine broker involves selling wine as an investment rather than selling wines to individuals to consume. It is similar to jobs such as financial or commodities brokerage but offers clients an alternative form of investment to the more traditional options of putting money into stocks and shares or financial products. Salaries are largely dependent on sales and successful brokers can earn substantial rewards.

Wine has developed as a viable alternative to traditional investments, particularly the fine wine market where a decent vintage can generate substantial returns when demand is high and supplies dwindle as the wine is consumed. There are risks to investing in wine however. There are no dividends paid and short term gains are unlikely. Wine brokers must be able to identify wines that will generate a profit and sell the benefits to clients.

Wine broker jobs can be offered in junior and senior roles. Junior positions at wine brokerages in London usually involve cold calling and pitching potential investments to prospective clients, whilst senior brokers follow up and close deals with clients, providing further information about the type of investments, market trends and potential returns. Vacancies for brokers state that candidates must be hard working and target driven, experienced in telephone sales and have excellent verbal communication skills. Most wine brokers get a commission-only salary but some state that earning can reach £150,000 per year for senior brokers.

The Just Broker Jobs website (justbrokerjobs.com) states that many successful wine brokers in London earn around £60,000 per year with the top jobs offering earnings in excess of £100,000. Long hours and hard work are required but some companies run training schemes for trainee brokers so beginners in the trade can pick up knowledge and experience.

Wine brokers rarely pick up much in terms of a basic salary but commission and bonuses can be generous. Some job advertisements on the Jobs Search Now (jobssearchnow.co.uk) site estimate earnings of up to £1500 in the first month after training rising to around £6000 per month after six months training. Other benefits including watches, clothes, holidays and even cars are offered to the best performers.

Estimated commission earnings in job advertisements often quote the earnings of top sellers. Your earnings when you start in the business might be considerably less.