The profession of the sommelier is not popular in the Polish hospitality industry. In most restaurants, this position does not exist. Only in a few, best restaurants this kind of workplace is created. However, forecasts for wine consumption in the Polish society suggest that the profession of sommelier will continue to develop constantly. So far, customers have not expected advice on wines because they do not know that they could receive such help. This does not mean, however, that there is no promotion area for the sommelier profession on the national job market. Since 2001, the Association of Polish Sommeliers has been operating, which undertakes a number of actions in the field. The main aim of the article is to present the activities of the Association with reference to promoting the sommelier profession on the job market in Poland, and to evaluate their effectiveness. The paper covers the theoretical aspects of profession promotion, the legislative conditions of the sommelier profession in Poland, and the characteristics of the activities of the Association of Polish Sommeliers for promoting the sommelier profession.
The growing level of education and the changing lifestyle of tourists influence the increasingly sophisticated consumer tastes. Thus, in all kinds of tourist service centres, such as hotels and restaurants, there is a need to employ people with high qualifications. One of the jobs in the hospitality industry which is still not a standard in Poland but which begins to grow is the profession of a sommelier. This is a person working in the field of catering whose duties consist in the care of wine. The position, in the context of the hospitality market, refers to hotels and gastronomic objects. The aim of the paper is to present the sommelier profession and the national context for its development. In addition, an attempt is made to estimate the size of employment in the profession in Poland. The article consists of three substantive parts, allowing to characterize the sommelier profession, to indicate the development conditions for the sommelier profession in Poland, and to describe sommeliers in the Polish hospitality industry in terms of quantity and quality.