Portugalia Marketplace:
Lead, Inspire, and Immerse in Portuguese Culture, Specialty Foods
About Portugalia Marketplace
Portugalia Marketplace stands as the premier Portuguese specialty food grocer in the United States, with a legacy spanning over 30 years since its founding by Fernando Benevides. Now operated by his children, Michael and Jennifer, the 20,000-square-foot store in Fall River, MA is renowned for its dedication to promoting Portuguese culture and cuisine. Customers can explore over 1,300 varieties of Portuguese wines and spirits, enjoy fresh baked goods at the in-store café, select from a wide array of prepared foods, and visit a temperature-controlled room dedicated to salt cod—a staple in Portuguese cooking.
Beyond food, Portugalia Marketplace features the Artigos design shop, which offers products from esteemed brands like Vista Alegre and innovative designers such as Casa Cubista. The shop includes fine china, handicrafts, soaps, cork objects, costume jewelry, and stylish home furnishings, bringing a touch of Portuguese elegance to any home. With nationwide shipping of both perishable and non-perishable goods, Portugalia Marketplace ensures its customers can enjoy Portuguese products no matter their location.
Job Description
Portugalia Marketplace is seeking a knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and customer-focused Wine Sales Associate to join our Wine, Beer & Spirits department.
With an extensive selection of Portuguese wines and spirits, our Wine Sales Associate plays an important role in helping customers explore the diversity of Portugal’s wine regions, grape varieties, producers, and traditions. This position combines customer service, product knowledge, sales, merchandising, and department operations to create an engaging and approachable shopping experience for both wine enthusiasts and customers who are just beginning to explore Portuguese wine.
The ideal candidate enjoys working directly with customers, is eager to continuously expand their wine knowledge, and is comfortable making thoughtful recommendations based on a customer’s preferences, occasion, meal, and budget.
Key Responsibilities
Provide friendly, knowledgeable, and attentive service to customers throughout Castas & Trigo.
Assist customers in selecting wines based on taste preferences, food pairings, occasion, region, price point, and level of wine knowledge.
Develop strong knowledge of Portuguese wine regions, grape varieties, producers, styles, and classifications, as well as the department's beer and spirits offerings.
Educate customers in an approachable way and help make Portuguese wine accessible to shoppers of all experience levels.
Proactively engage customers and identify opportunities to recommend complementary or alternative products.
Support department sales through thoughtful recommendations, suggestive selling, featured products, and seasonal promotions.
Maintain attractive, organized, fully stocked, and accurately priced displays.
Assist with receiving, stocking, rotating, organizing, and replenishing department inventory.
Monitor product availability and communicate low-stock, merchandising, or inventory needs to management.
Assist with wine tastings, special events, educational programming, and promotional activities.
Learn about new products and participate in ongoing tastings, vendor education, and product training.
Maintain cleanliness and organization of the department, displays, storage areas, and tasting spaces.
Work collaboratively with the Marketplace team to provide customers with a consistent and welcoming experience.
Follow all company policies and applicable Massachusetts regulations regarding the sale and handling of alcoholic beverages.
What We're Looking For
Strong interest in wine, food, hospitality, or Portuguese culture.
Previous wine, specialty retail, restaurant, hospitality, or customer service experience preferred.
Existing wine knowledge is preferred; enthusiasm and a willingness to learn are essential.
Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
Comfortable initiating conversations and making recommendations to customers.
Sales-minded without being overly aggressive; able to build trust through genuine product knowledge and service.
Strong attention to detail and organizational skills.
Ability to work independently while contributing positively to a team environment.
Ability to safely lift and move cases of wine and remain active throughout the shift.
Availability to work a flexible retail schedule, including weekends, evenings, and holidays as needed.
Must meet all applicable age requirements for handling and selling alcoholic beverages.
What Makes This Role Unique
At Portugalia Marketplace, wine is more than a product—it is an important part of the culture and culinary traditions we share with our customers. This position offers the opportunity to develop specialized knowledge of Portuguese wine, work with an extensive and distinctive portfolio, participate in tastings and educational experiences, and help introduce customers to wines they may not discover anywhere else.
For someone interested in building a career in wine and specialty retail, this role provides an opportunity to continually expand their product knowledge and grow within Portugalia Marketplace.