These salaries are probably about 50% lower than what I would suspect for most folks on this board (it’s a weird distribution though, with all the lawyers that seem to be on here probably creating some bi-modality). That’s kind of a bummer, but it’s also clearly a decent living wage for someone who in theory is following a passion and not doing the daily grind.
I know as a wine director of a restaurant with a 250+ bottle list that I made a lot less than I do now. However, I also got to buy wines at cost…and depending on how much you spend on wine…that can really balance out in a big way.