About
Server Trainings (2-Hour On-Site or Private Session)
Confident servers sell more wine — and create better guest experiences.
Palate’s Server Wine Trainings are designed to help your team feel comfortable talking about wine, answering guest questions, and confidently guiding purchasing decisions. This is not a lecture or a test — it’s a practical, approachable training that meets your staff where they are and gives them tools they can actually use on the floor.
Whether you’re onboarding new staff, refreshing a seasoned team, or launching a new wine list, this session helps turn wine from something intimidating into something profitable.
What Your Team Will Gain
Confidence describing wines in clear, guest-friendly language
A stronger understanding of your specific wine list
Practical tips for upselling wine naturally (without sounding salesy)
Better guest engagement and smoother table interactions
A shared vocabulary that improves consistency across servers
This training is customized to your menu, your wines, and your sales goals.
How This Service Works
1. Schedule a Planning Call
We’ll start with a brief planning conversation to discuss:
Your training date and location
Your menu and current wine program
Wine pricing and sales goals
Any challenges your team is experiencing
Please allow at least a weekend between our call and your training date so I can prepare properly.
2. Share Your Wine List
You’ll send me the list of wines you’d like included in the training.For each wine, please include:
Winery / producer
Vintage (year)
Wine name and style
Any other identifying details
This ensures I can research accurately and tailor the content to your offerings.
3. Customized Training Materials
I’ll prepare:
Clear, approachable tasting and talking notes for each wine
An evaluation and feedback sheet for your team
Talking points designed specifically for guest interaction and upselling
Everything is built around real service situations, not theory.
4. The Training Session
I’ll lead a 2-hour interactive training covering:
,
How to talk about wine without memorization
How to read guests and recommend confidently
How to upsell wine in a natural, guest-first way
How to answer common wine questions with ease
This is conversational, engaging, and tailored to your team’s experience level.
5. Follow-Up & Relationship Building
After the session, you’ll share feedback from your team.From there, we can:
Refine future trainings
Support menu changes or seasonal updates
Build an ongoing partnership as your wine program evolves
Who This Is For
Restaurants, bars, and tasting rooms
New or growing wine programs
Teams that want better wine sales without pressure
Owners and managers who value guest experience
No prior wine knowledge required — curiosity encouraged.
Ready to Schedule a Server Training?
If you’d like to book a Server Wine Training or have questions about whether this service is the right fit for your team, I’d love to talk.