Senior Winemaker

Mansfield & Co Recruitment; Adelaide; Hybrid; AUD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Car allowance

Annual wine allowance

Job summary

Fourth Wave Wine is hiring a Senior Winemaker to broaden experience beyond traditional winery operations and contribute to the bigger picture of the wine business.

Working closely with the Chief Winemaker, you will manage wine production across a diverse brand portfolio, focusing on sourcing, blending, finishing, bottling and quality assurance, with travel to regional facilities across Australia. This hands-on role offers ownership, collaboration with production partners and mentoring.

Qualifications

• Qualified Winemaker with strong technical knowledge and practical approach.
• Ability to assess quality, solve problems and make sound decisions.
• Willingness to work across wine preparation, finishing and bottling.
• Comfortable collaborating with external wineries and production partners.

Responsibilities

• Sourcing, assessing and selecting wines from local and international suppliers.
• Preparing and refining blends to meet brand styles and specifications.
• Overseeing bottling operations, including preparation, quality checks and final product sign-off.
• Working closely with external wineries, bottling facilities and production partners.
• Contributing to new product development and emerging categories.
• Developing an understanding of commercial considerations behind production and packaging decisions.

Skills

Winemaking

Production management

Quality assurance

Sourcing & blending

Education

Qualified Winemaker

Job description

Who's hiring?

Fourth Wave Wine isn't your traditional wine business. Independent, family-owned and proudly Australian, they're behind some of the country's most recognisable and innovative wine brands, including Little Giant, Tread Softly, Elephant in the Room and Farm Hand.

With a strong presence across Australia and international markets, Fourth Wave has built a successful and growing business by doing things differently. They're continually exploring new products and emerging categories, from organic and preservative-free wines through to lower-alcohol, zero-alcohol and flavoured drinks.

It's a progressive, fun and commercially minded business with an ambitious, high-performing team. The culture is driven, capable and energised, with people who enjoy what they do, embrace new ideas and are genuinely excited about where the business is heading.

With continued growth comes the opportunity to welcome a Senior Winemaker into this newly created position.

So, what's the role?

This is a fantastic opportunity for an experienced Winemaker who's keen to broaden their experience beyond traditional winery operations and get involved in the bigger picture of the wine business.

Working closely with the Chief Winemaker, you'll play a key role in managing wine production across a diverse portfolio of brands, with a particular focus on sourcing, blending, finishing, bottling and quality assurance.

Rather than overseeing the winemaking process from grape to bottle, you'll work with an extensive network of Australian and international wine suppliers and production partners to ensure the finished products deliver on quality, consistency and style.

It's a hands-on role with plenty of variety. One day you might be assessing wines from international suppliers, the next overseeing a bottling run, reviewing wine quality or contributing to the development of an exciting new product.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Sourcing, assessing and selecting wines from local and international suppliers.
• Preparing and refining blends to meet brand styles and specifications.
• Overseeing bottling operations, including preparation, quality checks and final product sign-off.
• Working closely with external wineries, bottling facilities and production partners.
• Contributing to new product development, including emerging wine and drinks categories.
• Developing an understanding of the commercial considerations behind production, packaging and supply decisions.

Based from home in Adelaide, you'll regularly visit bottling and production facilities across metropolitan Adelaide and South Australia's wine regions, including the Barossa, McLaren Vale, Adelaide Hills and Coonawarra. There will also be occasional interstate and (potentially) international travel.

You’ll have plenty of opportunity to take ownership, contribute ideas and develop your skills, with the support and mentoring of an experienced Chief Winemaker.

What are we looking for?

We’re looking for a qualified Winemaker who brings strong technical knowledge, a practical approach and an interest in the broader commercial side of the wine industry.

You’ll be comfortable working across wine preparation, finishing and bottling, with the ability to assess quality, solve problems and make sound decisions.

Just as importantly, we’re looking for someone who will thrive in Fourth Wave’s culture. You’ll be motivated, energetic and commercially curious, with a genuine growth mindset and a willingness to challenge how things have traditionally been done.

You’ll enjoy being part of a high-performing team, take pride in your work and have the initiative and confidence to manage your responsibilities independently, while staying connected and collaborating closely with colleagues and production partners.

Experience with preservative-free, lower-alcohol or flavoured drinks would be an advantage, as would exposure to multiple production partners, but neither is essential.

Why consider this opportunity?

You’ll join a successful, family-owned business that’s growing, innovating and making its mark in the Australian and international wine markets.

There’s a lot to like about this opportunity:

• A newly created position offering variety, autonomy and room to grow.
• The chance to work across an exciting range of brands and innovative new products.
• A progressive, fun and high-performing team that genuinely enjoys working together.
• Direct mentoring from the Chief Winemaker and exposure to the broader commercial wine business.
• The flexibility of working from home in Adelaide, balanced with regular visits to wineries and production facilities.
• A competitive base salary, plus a car allowance and an annual wine allowance!