Looking to do some volunteer wine work in CA, how does that work?

Cellar Rats (ITB)
1

I am looking to advance my wine education / cred and would like to work a harvest but given the time of year (which happens to be when I have the time) was hoping to find some other work that may need doing. Do vineyards / wineries look for volunteers all year round and how does that work? Thanks in advance! Jessica

2

Jessica,
Most vineyards are managed by professional crews which diminish in size when its not harvest time. Hence, I suspect the possibilities of vineyard work would be small.
Wineries gear up for harvest by hiring interns, but usually, just for the season.
At other times of the year, there isn’t much to do.
Best, Jim

3

Don’t forget that in the southern hemisphere it’s now the middle of summer and harvest is approaching. You might have more luck down there.

Paul & Stef Romero of Stefania Wine had an intern each of the past two years. Rajiv and Rachel both wrote up their experiences on line;
if you look through the blog at http://stefaniawine.blogspot.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; you might get some useful background.

4

I have taken a summer intern each of the last two years. You can email me if you’d like more information.

It’s not a full time gig, I can usually work you 20 hours or so a week. You’ll need a car, our vineyards are spread around, and I prefer someone grossly over-qualified for the job; Rajiv is a Chem Eng student at Princeton and Rachel was on her way to Med School at U of Georgia. High on the list of required skills:

Spanish
Forklift experience
Cleaning experience (working in a commercial kitchen)
Lifting 40 pounds

Things you should not say when looking for work:

“romantic”
“glamorous”

You’ll need good shoes, a big hat, and lots of sun screen. Rachel is a runner 30-40 miles a week and it still kicked her ass for a few weeks until she built up her vineyard stamina, so start training now.

5

Excellent advice Paul!

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So for the “romantic” and “glamorous” part of the biz, should one be contacting T-Bone? I mean, if one can. with his zipping around worldwide in the private jet.

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Sean, I will be landing in a private airstrip outside of Boston mid-April. Let’s tear it up! er, I mean sip on some burgs.

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Small wineries are always looking for some help. I would target a region you want to work and start email, calling and visiting wineries. Make sure you tell them you want to volunteer or intern. I have two great interns now and I plan on making it a regular thing. It may be hard to keep an intern busy this time of year unless they are big enough or have a vineyard to work in. Good Luck!

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we can’t let just anyone paint the fence. It’s a very special thing, a privilege really, we can’t just let anyone paint this fence…

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Randy…I am so proud of you!!!


Remember, practice young grasshopper…wax on…wax off…


now go paint da fence.

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How much white washin’ would you let me do for a dead rat tied to a string and a one-eyed kitten? I’d even show you my sore toe to boot.

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Depends on if Becky Thatcher is around.

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Excellent. Will you be bringing your personal valet or do I need to provide you with one of mine?

Be very aware that the timeframe around 19th April is very packed in the Boston area - Battle of Lexington & Concord reenactment, and 11AM Red Sox game at Fenway Park, and over 1,000,000 people lining the downtown streets to watch the Boston Marathon.

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2005 Harvest Internships at Tres Sabores! Join us for a one to five day intensive grape-growing and winemaking > working vacation> . Here’s unique opportunity to drop right into the artisan winery experience and immerse yourself in a true Rutherford Dust crush. Please contact me by email for details and available dates.

Now THAT’s marketing! [tease.gif]

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It’s a little reminiscent of . . .