Winemaker - GV

Golden Route Operations, LLC; Omus (CA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Rack & Riddle Custom Wine Services in California seeks a Winemaker - GV to join our team at the Geyserville facility. Under the Lead Winemaker, you will coordinate Charmat production, canning operations, and flavored wine programs, while guiding lab, cellar, and QC activities.

The role requires 5+ years in winemaking, enology/viticulture training, and the ability to lead in a fast-paced environment; Vintrace experience is preferred.

Qualifications

• Completion of a degree or certificate program relating to enology, viticulture or related field.
• 5+ years of winemaking experience.
• Supervisor experience is preferred.
• Ability to learn and adapt to changing conditions.
• Ability to work safely and accurately in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong organizational skills and high attention to detail.
• Proficiency in spreadsheets and word processing; Vintrace preferred.

Responsibilities

• Oversee Charmat production at GV, including writing Vintrace work orders and approving readiness for bottling.
• Coordinate canning and bottling operations, including prep and client specifications.
• Lead day-to-day guidance for lab, cellar and QC; ensure proper data entry and compliance.
• Participate in harvest activities, blending and formula trials as per client instructions.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to meet winemaking requirements and SOPs.

Skills

Organizational skills

Attention to detail

Ability to learn

Education

Enology/viticulture degree or certificate

Tools

Vintrace

Job description

• Base Pay $90,000.00 - $110,000.00 / Year
• Job Category Winemaking, Production
• Industry Winery, Manufacturing, Food Processing

Contact information

Description

Rack & Riddle Custom Wine Services, the #1 custom sparkling wine producer in the United States, is seeking to add a Winemaker - GV to our team.

This Winemaker is a winemaking role based out of Rack & Riddle’s Geyserville (GV) facility. Under the direction of the Lead Winemaker, this position serves as point of contact for the Geyserville team’s Charmat winemaking production, canning operations, and flavored wine programs.

This position coordinates the day-to-day workload for lab, cellar and QC at GV and communicates wine preparation for Planning, Production, and QA teams regarding Charmat, canning, and flavored wine production.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Charmat Production – GV

• Write Vintrace work orders for inoculation, dosage, and final bottling prep
• Verify lab analysis to specifications
• Audit completed work orders for correct Lot IDs, tank measurements, and gallons
• Scan work orders to Data Entry
• Approve wine readiness for the bottling line
• Be available for bottling line questions and decision making

Canning & Bottling Operations

• Write Vintrace work orders for client additions and canning prep
• Verify lab analysis to specifications
• Verify spec sheets submitted by clients
• Scan work orders to Data Entry
• Approve wine readiness for the canning line
• Be available for canning line questions and decision making

Other Winemaking duties

• Harvest participation which may include grape sampling, fermentation tasting, temperature management, and weekend coverage
• Blending & formulations – planning and executing blends & formulas per client instruction. Creating blend & formula trials for Rack & Riddle branded wines. Trace tracking ingredient lists for compliance and QC.
• Tastings – schedule and set up rotation of tastings: aging, competitive, new product, internal and client base wines, etc.
• Day to day point person giving guidance, work distribution, & instruction for lab, cellar, and QC.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Collaborate closely with the Winemaking, Cellar, Planning, Production, Lab and QC teams at GV to ensure winemaking requirements are communicated back to the Lead Winemaker.
• Promote teamwork.
• Adhere to all safety practices, SOPs, Rack and Riddle’s winemaking protocols and company policies.
• Learn data entry and collaborate with our Data Entry & Winemaking Assistant.
• Other tasks assigned by management.

Requirements

A successful candidates background includes:

• Completion of a degree or certificate program relating to enology, viticulture or related field.
• 5+ years of winemaking experience.
• Supervisor experience is preferred.
• Ability to learn and adapt to changing conditions.
• Ability to work safely and accurately in a fast-paced environment.
• Must possess strong organizational skills as well as a high degree of accuracy and attention to detail.
• Proficiency in spreadsheets, word processing programs and general winemaking software (Vintrace preferred).

Summary

Established in 2007 in Northern California by wine industry veterans Rebecca Faust and Bruce Lundquist, Rack & Riddle was founded with the mission to craft superior sparkling wines. Through years of steadfast dedication and thoughtful expansion, Rack & Riddle has become the #1 custom sparkling wine producer in the United States with 3.5 million cases of capacity. An exceptional winemaking team dedicated to the mastery of sparkling wine supported by state-of-the-art technology, delivers turnkey grape-to-bottle, wine-to-bottle, and private label sparkling wine services with tank sizes ranging from 500 to 100,000 gallons. Our wineries, rooted in Sonoma County, specialize in Méthode Champenoise, Charmat, and in-line carbonation solutions producing the best of all things sparkling. The company’s cutting-edge Healdsburg facility also offers high capacity, fully automated still wine capabilities. The company prides itself on being an upstanding member of the communities in which it operates and is committed to operating fairly, ethically, and sustainably.

Rack & Riddle is a drug-free workplace and an Equal Opportunity Employer.

This position is subject to a background check in accordance with applicable laws. A conviction does not automatically bar individuals from employment.

This role's compensation is anticipated to fit within the stated range. These figures represent what we reasonably expect to pay for this position, but the actual compensation offered will depend on numerous job-related factors, including but not limited to candidate skills, knowledge, and education.