Research on food and beverage combinations has mainly concentrated on sensory evaluation of product characteristics or customer preferences, and there is limited research on professional prac-tices related to food and beverage combinations. In this study, in-depth focus group interviews were conducted with 21 Swedish sommeliers with different work experiences. The aim was to explore how professional sommeliers perform food and beverage combinations as a social practice. The qualitative content analysis resulted in two categories: conventions of combining and the sommelier identity. It was shown that performing food and beverage combinations was a routinized activity surrounded by rules, competence, and materiality and was driven by the will to satisfy guests and benefit emotionally and economically. It was also described as being a part of shaping sommeliers’ professional identities through a continuous striving for improved competence. These findings con-tribute to the literature on food and beverage combinations, bridging the gap between objective taste and individual subjectivity, have practical relevance for the hospitality industry, since they indicate norms of behavior and individual driving forces in one of its professions. This also helps educators in the industry to challenge traditional ways of teaching combinations in culinary arts. Moreover, as identity works as a driver for sommeliers in their professional development, this also presents ideas about how to improve staff retention in the restaurant business by building professional identities.