Awatere River Wine Company is located in Marlborough’s Awatere Valley producing premium Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Methode sparkling wine from our vineyards.

Awatere River Wine Company is part of Booster Wine Group which is a collection of NZ wineries including Waimea Estates, Gravity, Bannock Brae and Sileni Wines. It is here at the Awatere River Wine Company where we are now recruiting for dynamic, reliable team players to join our Marlborough based winery as Vintage Cellar Hands for the 2024 Harvest.

We are a medium-sized winery that combines traditional winemaking approaches with modern technology. We provide a fantastic work and learning environment, you will gain exposure to numerous aspects of the winemaking process, as well as the opportunity to be part of a close-knit, friendly team who are dedicated to producing quality wines.

The vintage positions will commence early-March, depending on the grape growing season. We offer an 8-week minimum contract, with a chance of extending some contracts depending on experience. As expected, long vintage hours and shiftwork are required during the peak of harvest, and we provide a meal each day over this peak. We contribute towards your accommodation with a subsidy, and we are happy to assist you with finding accommodation if required.  Transport to and from work is also provided.

We are recruiting for multiple vintage cellar hands and 1x Lab technician role.

Vintage Cellar hand responsibilities & tasks:

• Grape receival, processing and pressing
• Flotation & filtration
• Racking & transfers
• Additions & Innoculations
• Red wine management
• Barrel management
• General cellar & Equipment hygiene
• Previous experience in Forklift, RDV, Dieme Presses, batch & continuous flotation and Omnia High Solids Crossflow is an advantage but not essential.

Vintage Lab tech responsibilities & tasks:

• Assisting Lab manager during the vintage period
• Maturity sampling
• Conducting daily ferment rounds and collection of samples
• Collaborating closely with the lab manager, cellar hands and winemakers to ensure precise and reliable analysis is obtained
• Experience with equipment such as Foss/Winescan, Aspiration Sulphurs, Auto titrator, DMA (Density meter), vintrace software and Excel spreadsheets is an advantage but not essential

 Our ideal candidates will possess:

• A minimum of 2 vintages experience (previous experience in a mid-to-large Marlborough winery is advantageous)
• A passion for making wine
• Can-do attitude with attention to detail
• Appetite for hard work with a reasonable level of fitness
• Health & Safety conscious
• A great sense of humor and the ability to communicate effectively in English
• The ability to work well with others as part of a team

In return, we will provide:

• A competitive wage rate of $26-$30 depending on experience
• An 8-week contract with a minimum of 32 hours per week in the periods before and after harvest
• 12-hour shifts during peak, with rostered days off
• 1x daily meal during peak shift work
• Assistance finding accommodation as well as a subsidy towards accommodation
• Transport to and from work
• Full on the job training
• Chance to increase your knowledge of New Zealand wine

If you want to be part of our epic team, please forward a CV, two references and a cover letter outlining your main areas of experience via the ‘Apply Now’ button.

• For information about working in New Zealand, visit the Immigration Department website: www.immigration.govt.nz
• For information about New Zealand's Inland Revenue Department (for tax purposes and getting tax numbers etc), visit www.ird.govt.nz
  
• For information about the Marlborough wine region, click here.
• Jobseekers should be aware that the start and finish dates of harvest work employment may change from those suggested by wineries at the time of your job offer. Vintage dates can not accurately be predicted.
  
  It is therefore important that you understand that depending on your employment arrangements with the employer there may be a period of time where you have no work or less work than you were expecting, and should have sufficient financial arrangements in place should this occur. Your actual start and finish dates may vary - if you have queries around this, check with your winery employer before booking airline tickets etc.
• For general information about New Zealand, click here or here for two helpful websites. 

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