It’s August. Harvest 2012 is approaching. (here in the N hemisphere) To follow up on another recent blog post about wine compliance careers this time I’d like to focus on a specific example of a great beginning job opportunity for someone who’d like to get their feet wet learning winery compliance. This job exposes them to where it all begins, weighing loads of grapes as a deputy weighmaster.

Deputy weighmaster? Sounds so official doesn’t it?

If you have an interest in starting a career in winery compliance this kind of job opportunity will expose you to a lot of compliance regulations, plus you’ll get to mix with a wide range of people. (If that’s your thing)

What can you expect from working as a deputy weighmaster?

1. Interaction with a wide range of people. This includes a number of winery staff, (winemaker, owner, vineyard managers, cellar crew) growers and truck drivers.

2. Long days. Generally you’ll be asked to work at least 6 days a week, up to 10 hours. (The grapes wait for no man!)

3. A daily schedule that consists of dull, quiet stretches mixed with periods of high demand “controlled chaos”.

If all of the above still sounds like your cup of tea AND you are also a person who:

1. Needs minimal supervision

2. Has good communication skills (friendly)

3. Has natural attention to detail and organizing skills

4. Likes to learn new things

5. Has a genuine interest in winemaking (some familiarity with it a plus!)

Then consider doing research for these types of jobs: harvest lab technician or harvest weighmaster. Both of them will provide you with the exposure scenarios I’ve described here and will start to give you an idea whether or not wine compliance is your thing.

The best job search website I can refer you to is Winejobs.com.  http://www.winebusiness.com/classifieds/winejobs/

Harvest is a very dynamic, sometimes frantic, experience at a winery.

If you are someone who has an interest in breaking into the wine industry in the compliance area I highly recommend considering starting with a harvest job such as a deputy weighmaster which will expose you to not just the beginning of a wine’s life- but also to the beginning details of wine compliance.

Recent Posts