Anyone want to work in a winery?

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Anyone want to work in a winery?

James Frost, from the lovely Quinta de Sant’Ana in Portugual’s Lisboa region (see my report on a visit here) is looking to hire a temporary worker for vintage. This would be a fantastic way of gaining hands-on experience of making wine in a really nice part of the world. The advert is below.

We rely on seasonal help during the harvest, and we are presently looking for someone who can work alongside me in the winery. The work would entail the following:

-collecting grapes from the vineyards for ripeness tests
-ripeness tests –total acidity, pH, probable sugar (these can be taught at the time)
-sanitizing of winery and equipment prior to harvest
-processing of grapes as they arrive at the winery; emptying boxes of grapes into press (whites) de-stemming/crushing machine (reds), sulphur
additions
-foot treading, pump-overs, lees stirring
-controlling and monitoring fermentation temperatures
-de-vatting and pressing of reds
-lab test of acidity, pH
-filling casks

The person should be prepared to work long hours when necessary, be physically fit, happy climbing ladders to a height of 4m and have black hands and feet for a few weeks! It is an ideal all-round hands-on experience for someone who wants to learn about almost all aspects of winemaking. We have an English speaking, Portuguese consultant winemaker who visits us regularly during the vintage, who has a wealth of in-depth knowledge that can be tapped. We pay a monthly salary of €700, food and accommodation are provided on site.

We start the harvest at the end of August with Pinot Noir, but we do not really need extra help till the second week in September when we usually start harvesting the whites and soon after the reds. We are busy till the end of October, when we have a large open day with tastings, dancing, hog roast etc.

James can be contacted at james at quintadesantana.com

13 Comments on Anyone want to work in a winery?
wine journalist and flavour obsessive

13 thoughts on “Anyone want to work in a winery?

  1. Yes. Yes. Yes. I want to work and learn in a winery. I am ready, able bodied and willing, with winery experience. Please contact me. Thank you.

    Patty Lackner
    408-483-2475

  2. I am looking to work in a winery until Xmas to get some experience before I begin my diploma in the new year… Any suggestions?!

  3. I would love to work in a winery! I realise this is a very old posting but I am hoping you still look at it from time to time. Please contact me!

  4. My absolute dream job!! If you are ever looking for someone again p please please contact me. I would work my fingers to the bone.

  5. We are couple from Czech republic (27 years old). We have done 3 years experiences on vineyard and in the winery in New Zealand. Our last vintage was this year 2014 in Hawkes bay vine company and we crushed 5500 tonnes of grapes. We know all winery opperations and we are able drive fork lift, tractor or four wheels bike. We also have some sommelier courses. We would like learn more about the wine from others regions.

    We are really pasion to wine, energetics and ready for long days and nights. You can find more informations about us bellow in CV and references.
    We will be really happy to help you like cellar hands in comming vintage.

    Thank you for reply and have a lovely day

    Best regards
    Name: Jakub Louthan, Adela Reischigova
    Address: Krátká 1327, Nejdek, Czech republic
    Phone number: +420 776 173 666
    e-mail: louthanj@seznam.cz

  6. Hi, This opportunity sounds great! I am a highly trained horticulturist, completing a 3yr diploma at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in early September. My passions lie in furthering my knowledge of sustainable food production and viticulture.

    Hopefully you still check this blog page; I would love the chance to talk to you about this or any similar opportunities, or to acquire some contacts if possible.

    Hope to hear from you!

    Chris

  7. Hello Jamie,
    I see this is quite an old post, though I thought I’d still contact you to enquire about more opportunities like this one?
    I am Brazilian/Portuguese (double citizenship)though I live in England with my husband, who is a Wine Sommelier within a group of restaurants belonging to a strong household named English chef and we both are proficient in English.
    We’d like to get a taste of life in Portugal, to try and test the waters if you will, and I’d be extremely grateful if you could let me know whether you have more opportunities like these coming up soon?
    Thank you ever so much, Muito obrigada!
    And hope to hear form you soon.

    Maria

  8. Hello there,
    Me (Karolína) and my boyfriend Matěj and my friend Karol are looking for some seasonal job for 10-14 day(How you will need). Me and Matěj we finished university (Me- Nursing, Matěj- building construction) this year so we are more flexible with time. Karol is working full time, but she is interesting about wine picking and she will take some holidays.
    We wanna get some expiriences about wine picking. For us is it something what we really want to try. We have some experiences with working aboard, but not with wine.
    All of us are from Czechia, I am 24 years old and Matěj as well, Karol is 25 y.o.
    We can start of the end of september (29.september) we will arrive by a car. I know that it will be end of the season, but still we would be so glad to work with you.
    we are hardworking and not afraid of hard work. If you are interested just let us know. We will send you a CV if it´s needed.
    Every one of us have a Facebook, so you can check us there, in case you want to be sure that we are „normal“. 😀

    Thank you for your time and feedback.
    Best regards, Karolína Morongová, Matěj Honka and Karol Mlčochová
    🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

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