GuildSomm Career Series: Consulting

This month on the GuildSomm podcast, we're hosting a special series focused on careers in the wine industry. We're releasing one episode per week throughout the month of May, featuring interviews with wine professionals whose careers highlight lesser-known paths within the industry.

For our second episode in the series, GuildSomm Interim Executive Director Christopher Tanghe interviews Erik Segelbaum about his wine consulting business, SOMLYAY. They discuss how Erik's sommelier career evolved over the course of nearly two decades, what ultimately drove him to transition into consulting, and how other wine professionals might find success working for themselves. Erik also invites listeners to learn more about the United Sommeliers Foundation, which was founded during the Covid-19 pandemic to provide monetary assistance to sommeliers experiencing financial hardships.

In this episode:

With nearly three decades of industry experience, Erik Segelbaum has a proven track record of success in the hospitality industry. Prior to founding SOMLYAY, Segelbaum served as the corporate beverage director for Starr Restaurants where he oversaw $100+ million/year in beverage revenue for 39 unique concepts and was the Head Sommelier of M/V The World, an ultra-luxury private residential community based on the largest private yacht on the planet. Segelbaum is a wine educator with ongoing sessions at Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. as well as private and corporate events. Erik was named 2020 Wine Enthusiast 40 under 40 Tastemaker and Food & Wine Magazine 2019 Sommelier of the Year, and is an Advanced Sommelier with the Court of Master Sommeliers, Certified Specialist of Wine (with distinction) with the Society of Wine Educators, and Wine and Spirits Locations Specialist (with distinction).

Additionally, Erik is the founding vice president of the United Sommeliers Foundation, a charitable organization that provides emergency financial assistance to sommeliers who have lost their job through no fault of their own (such as the global Covid-19 pandemic). To apply for funding or make a donation to the United Sommeliers Foundation, visit: https://www.unitedsommeliersfoundation.org/our-mission

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GuildSomm Career Series: Consulting

In this episode: