Harvest Assistant (Wine Jobs: Vineyards & Cellars )

Full Time

  DaVero Farms & Winery

  Healdsburg, California

DaVero Farms & Winery is a small, family-run farm and winery that, unlike most similar businesses, is fully vertically integrated. We are certified Biodynamic, grow most of our grapes, process them on site, and sell 100% directly to end consumers. As a consequence, we are establishing a reputation as a producer of exceptional Italian varietal wines – a reputation that is essential to our viability.

Our small team handles every aspect of the production cycle, including soil fertility; vine selection; planting and pruning; choosing the proper time to harvest; crush; manage spontaneous or wild yeast fermentations; barrel aging; and bottling. Frequent sampling and tasting is required on each barrel of each wine to guard against faults and evaluate quality.

Because of our small size, the Harvest Assistant position for which we are recruiting requires one individual whose knowledge and experience of Mediterranean grapes and traditional fermentation practices enables them to contribute in every aspect of our harvest-to-crush cycle. They will report to our Winemaker, who supervises the entire cycle from growing through bottling. Duties at the different phases include, but are not limited to, the following:
•  Cultivation: vine training and pruning; assist with building compost; spreading of compost and compost teas.
•  Vineyard monitoring: sampling vine tissues and soil to inform nutrition decisions, fruit monitoring for ripeness to inform harvest decisions.
•  Harvest by hand-picking fruit; discarding unripe or overripe clusters in the field.
•  Following instructions regarding the maintenance, inspection, and proper cleaning of all winery equipment, barrels, and work surfaces.
•  Production at winery includes: crushing, pressing, monitoring primary and secondary fermentation status, performing punch-downs, performing pump-overs, barrel filling, racking, and topping of barrels, blending, and assisting with bottling.

Because of the range of duties and the unique characteristics of what we grow, the requirements for this position are relatively specific:
•  Must be 21 years of age or older.
•  Minimum of two harvests crush experience working in a winery setting. Experience in-vineyards, especially with Italian wine grapes, is strongly preferred.
•  Strong knowledge of the basic wine sciences is required, as it relates to winemaking and grape growing, but a formal education in the wine sciences (Associates or Bachelor degree) is not necessary, but is strongly preferred.
•  Excellent physical condition, as the primary vineyard is quite steep.
•  Ability to lift 50 lbs frequently.
•  Able to stoop, bend, and work in cold and/or wet conditions.
•  Fluent in English; working knowledge of Spanish is helpful but not required.
•  An enthusiastic and hospitable demeanor is required. Our winery is open to the public most days of the year and you must be able to maintain a high level of composure during the busy harvest season. 

The above are in addition to the normal rules and requirements of our workplace, which include:
•  No smoking, drinking, or use of controlled substances during work hours or anywhere on our property.
•  Workers must stay away from work if they are taking medications that may in any way adversely affect their alertness, coordination, reaction time, or otherwise pose a safety risk.
•  No non-workers or children are permitted on-site without explicit prior permission.
•  Workers must follow all safety rules and instructions.

This is a temporary or seasonal position, paid hourly. The wage is dependent on qualifications, abilities, and education. The Harvest Assistant position would begin on a part-time basis in mid-July and quickly become full-time from August through mid-November, which is when we usually press off our last red wines. However, the right candidate may start full time immediately. After the grape harvest, the position would revert back to a part-time role from mid-November to mid-December and would terminate based on operational needs at DaVero. The opportunity to advance to a full-time or year-round position is dependent on the quality of work during harvest and crush, the fit with our small farm team, their skills, and the opportunity to grow within our family farm team. 

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