The people winemakers rely on are often performing the most important aspects of production.
By Janice Williams
When we think about the stars of winemaking, the winemaker often stands in the limelight. He or she usually serves as the face of their brands, traveling and speaking on behalf of the winery, explaining the nuances and quirks of the wine that fills the glass. And it’s the winemaker who so often gets the credit and the praise of the public for an excellent vintage. To many enthusiasts, the winemaker is the leader in command, the visionary, the one forging the path to creating what will hopefully be their next enjoyable sip.
But any winemaker will tell you that mastering the art of wine is not a solo effort. Producing wine worth drinking requires a team to create a masterpiece in a bottle.
It’s a team effort
Whether a winery operates as a small family business or a large corporation, a group of people usually work diligently behind the scenes, tasked with various duties that contribute to the winemaking process. While the winemaker (or a winemaking director) typically sits at the top of the chain of command, the basis of their jobs wouldn’t be so seamless without those who work alongside them in the vineyard and cellar.
“These roles are integral to the winemaking process,” says Rebekah Wineburg, winemaker at Quintessa in Napa Valley. “Terroir wine is the expression of a culture and a community, and that’s not one person’s expression. My role is to take the specialties of the teams and express the culture, the people and the wine style while also expressing the best possible potential of the season.”
So, who are the key players helping the winemaker achieve their goal? The assistant winemakers, lab managers, oenologists, cellar masters and cellar hands help with the day-to-day management of the wine in the cellar. For wineries operating estate vineyards, winemakers rely heavily on vineyard managers and crew members, who tend to the grapes and vines.
“We should celebrate the vineyard team that is there at 6 a.m., sometimes pruning in the rain, and who don’t get the accolades. And as for the cellar team, if you want great wine, you need people who are doing the operations perfectly and caring about what they do,” says Wineburg.
The vineyard team is responsible for grape management, from planting and maintenance to pruning and training, controlling pests and diseases, irrigation, harvesting and processing.
The people working the vineyard keep the winemaker up to speed with grape production and any problem areas. They’re out in the vineyard every day, rain or shine. They know the historical background of specific block quality and keep the winemaker aware of where the strongest areas are and the sections of the vineyard that need improvement.
Meanwhile, the cellar is just as busy, helping out with harvest and processing, managing equipment like crushers, presses, pumps and filters, monitoring the fermentation process and stabilizing wines, racking, filtering and bottling. Most important, the cellar team keeps everything clean and organized.
In an age of advanced technology and more industries leaning on artificial intelligence to get things done, vineyard and cellar teams still rely on actual people. And that’s something winemakers don’t think will ever change. “We use technology at the winery, but nothing will replace touching the tank or tasting the wine,” says Wineburg. “A phenolic analysis won’t replace a person tasting a grape and saying, ‘This is ripe.’”
Having a person on the ground with the insight and the know-how to get everyday tasks done is crucial. “When people get into winemaking, they think they will always be boots on the ground, working with the vineyard and the cellar. [But] the further you get into the industry, the closer you get to a desk job,” says Elliot Watkins, an assistant winemaker at Veritas Wines in Virginia. “You are overseeing what’s happening in the cellar more than being the one doing the barrel or tank work. You have to have a lot of trust in your team and believe that team will do everything the way that you’ve shown them.”
Watkins adds, “Having that great team that you can trust and rely on is what makes a great wine.”
Anyone can do it
Each role in a winery comes with a specific set of duties, but workers don’t necessarily need a college degree to perform any of them. Sure, a background in agriculture helps, but an interest in wine is paramount. Having transferable skills like organization, adaptability, communication, time management and teamwork are more important to some winemakers — and the strength to lift and carry crates of grapes certainly comes in handy.
“[Being a cellar hand] is a pathway to being a winemaker. I’ve met a lot of people who got into the wine industry because they are fascinated with wine but didn’t go to university for winemaking and don’t have advanced degrees in it. The pathway to that might take a longer timeframe, but I would still say starting at the bottom as an intern or a cellar hand is a pathway to that,” says Adam Foster, a cellar hand at Appassionata Estate in Oregon’s Willamette Valley.
Much of the job’s function is learned on the ground in real time, and cellar masters and vineyard managers serve as the greatest teachers when they make the time to train new staffers, show them the vineyard and the winery, help them understand the hospitality aspect of the business, and learn how their role impacts and collaborates with the team.
“On-the-job learning is important, and that’s how I teach my guys. I have to teach them about each step: pruning, all the equipment, tractors, all of that,” says Jose Garcia, vineyard manager at Benton-Lane Winery in Willamette Valley. “I can’t manage these 140 acres myself, so teamwork is super important. We all work together.”
Wineburg adds, “We have our new people shadow and partner with a more experienced team member to also learn on the job. We are lucky as the average tenure for our vineyard and winery teams is about 15 years. We build great teams on mutual respect and sharing common goals.”
Online job postings help winemakers recruit new talent. Often, interns brought in to work the harvest get hired into full-time positions. However, word-of-mouth is still one of the strongest resources.
“A lot of times, if we don’t have a place for an intern at the end of harvest, one of the wineries around us will ask if we have anyone who did a great job and is looking for something more permanent. We’ll try to find a job for them if we don’t have a full-time job available,” says Watkins.
Though it can be grueling, and folks in the cellar and vineyard aren’t always given the proper credit, the work is the best reward for many. “If you are attracted to being on your feet and having a lot of fun, being a team player and able to take direction to achieve a task, this work gives you a chance to be a part of something magical. You’re truly creating something, and I think that is what’s really exciting about working in wine,” says Foster.
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Janice Williams
Janice Williams is a New York City-based journalist covering wine and spirits. Certified WSET Level II, her work has been featured in print and online publications, including Newsweek, Essence magazine, Wine Enthusiast, VinePair, and SevenFifty Daily, among others. You can follow her work on Instagram @browngirldrinkswine and website janicewilliams.net.
