winery work question (Santa Maria, Napa, Davis: college, standard of living, cost)

[karelise]

If anybody with winery experinece can answer this question, I'd really appreciate it.

My husband is interested in working in a cellar positin in a winery (most likely Napa or Sonoma). It would be a change in careers for him and he's looking froward to the physical work but we're wondering if those cellar positions tend to be blue collar only. In other words, would it actually be a challenge to get hired if he is seen as slightly more white collar? Not trying to politicize anything, we're just trying to gather information because we don't want to relocate to an area and then find out after the fact that he wouldn't be considered for that type of job becasue he is 40, white collar, etc...

thanks for any info!

[Adriatica]

Winery work tends to be either blue-collar (physical labor) or higher-end (i.e. people with enology or viticulture degrees). There are some positions in the middle, but not many.

[bhcompy]

my godmother worked for various wineries for about a dozen years. she started off helping out at wine tastings and tours and moved from there. she has no formal education and basic work experience(bartender, waitress, etc). you just need to find a place that will take you and move from there. i would contact wineries first before looking at moving plans

[karelise]

thanks all, and please excuse my spelling in my earlier post - I was typing with a baby on my lap!

He's not actually looking to be a winemaker which requires an enealogy background/degree but he is interested in being a cellar worker and perhaps a cellar master eventually. We've thought about his working in the tasting rooms first - just don't know how easily he could move around from that position to one in the cellar.

If anyone else has additional thoughts or experiences, I'd love to hear.

thanks again!

[ElleBebe]

It may depend on the size and location of the winery. I worked at a small winery in Davis and everyone working in the cellar either had a college degree or was working towards one (Davis being a college town and UC Davis being wine-friendly). With smaller wineries, you also have the benefit of being able to move from one position to another pretty easily, as everyone helps out everywhere, especially during harvest. With larger wineries, I'd imagine you get boxed into your job more.

Keep in mind the physical work is seasonal. Harvest happens June through September (depending on the weather, what grapes you're growing and what sort of wine you're making) and that's when workers tend to work longer hours and when part-time workers get hired. The rest of the year isn't as bad, mainly bottling and whatnot. If he's still trying to decide whether to switch careers, it might be good to wait until next June and get a seasonal job for harvest and see if he likes it.

A former coworked of mine recently graduated from UC Davis and is globe-trotting, following the harvest around the world. She spent four months in New Zealand and Australia working the harvest, then traveled west following the harvest and ended up back in Australia for the next year's harvest. Fun life...

[karelise]

I would love to see New Zealand and Australia - sounds like your friend is having an amazing experience! But we have two young kids so can't really hop around.

I know we missed the crush this season - just wondering in general if we can piece it together to create something full-time out of it, with a decent standard of living.

[Capt. Dan]

why limit your options to Napa-Sonoma? The central coast is a great place to raise a family and is quickly catching up with Napa-Sonoma in the quality of the wines produced. San Luis Obispo, Santa Maria and the Santa Ynez Valley are beautiful and very family friendly. i also dont think the cost of living is any more than in Napa-Sonoma. Good Luck!!

[karelise]

I would love the Central Coast and other areas but we need to support a family and I'm assuming (based on reading some wine industry reports) that the wineries in Napa and Sonoma pay more and also have more openings, simply because some of the wineries there are bigger and they tend to produce more ( a generalization, I know).

[ElleBebe]

Originally Posted by karelise

I would love the Central Coast and other areas but we need to support a family and I'm assuming (based on reading some wine industry reports) that the wineries in Napa and Sonoma pay more and also have more openings, simply because some of the wineries there are bigger and they tend to produce more ( a generalization, I know).

Yeah, that's a pretty big generalization. There are a lot of smaller wineries in Napa and Sonoma, since the land is so expensive. I'd also recommend widening your search, if only to see what's out there and you may still end up in Napa. But it also may be more difficult to get a job in Napa because of the prestige.

[bhcompy]

Temecula also has a wine industry and is a bit more affordable, but the weather is a bit more oppressive