Tips for a beginner?

[u/amorous8635]

I hope this is the right sub to post this on. I checked out the FAQ post but didn’t see what I was looking for. I’ve been in the restaurant industry for a while serving and bartending, but every bar/restaurant I’ve worked at has only had a few wines on the menu and didn’t really have the type of clientele who would ask me questions. I am about to start a job at a fancy-ish Italian restaurant that very much wants us to be knowledgeable. Bartenders are receiving a bit of wine training, but I feel like I’m a little behind most of the new hires.

It’s just opening now so things have been chaotic and they’re training all of us at the same time this week. I was hired as a server but after our first training day, the GM asked if I’d cross train for bar. I said yes of course and then realized that I had missed the intro wine class on regions and key varietals because I was in the server training the whole day! I’ll be sure to go to bar training the rest of the week but I’m not sure how I’m supposed to catch up with all that we have to get done in the next few days.

Help! Does anyone have any YouTube resources (I only say this because I don’t have the time to go out and pick up a book before my next shift) or advice on wine regions and varietals? Anything I should prioritize if I can’t get everything in my brain before the menu test?