Cellar Worker/Production Assistant

The Cellar Worker/Production Assistant (CWPA) works alongside the Production Manager (PM). It is his/her role to carry out the major physical processes associated with day-to-day winemaking tasks. The CWPA has the added responsibility for the operation, upgrade, and maintenance of winery mechanical systems. In addition, general sanitation and cleanliness of the winery falls under this person’s responsibility as well as certain record keeping tasks.
Specific Areas of Responsibility
Crush

• Periodic driving for fruit pick-up
• Conduct all crush tasks as needed o Fruit offloading, weighing, tagging, destemming, pressing, punch downs, pump-overs, must transfers, cleaning/sanitation, bin loading on trucks, lees dumping, bin movements, etc.
• Assist temporary crush staff with day-to-day tasks
• Assist as necessary with wine additions: enzymes, tannin, yeast, acid, sulfite, Malolactic bacteria, Go-Ferm, DAP

Post Crush and Mid Term Winemaking

• Conduct day-to-day tasks associated with general winemaking: o Racking, oak movements, additions, blending movements, pre-filtration & filtration, wine prep for bottling, sanitation activities, winery cleaning and organization, barrel care, topping, VA reduction, and other special wine projects
• Assist LM when needed o Sample preparation, additions, etc.
• Forklift work
• Maintenance and upgrade of winery mechanical systems o Cooling systems, fans, humidification, pumps, filters, tanks, presses, destemmers, hoppers, forklifts, water delivery, compressed air, door seals, lighting, basic electrical, etc.
• Assist PM in organizing barrel room by program/clients
• Unloading of trucks delivering winery materials
• Responsible for the organization of the cellar & lab
• Assist PM with general cellar/crush pad cleanliness & sanitation
• Assist in loading outgoing – large – wine orders

Bottling

• Assist with the staging of materials for bottling
• Assist in prepping wines for bottling (i.e., SO2, pre-filtration,
• Act as labor on bottling line
• Assist with bottling materials organization/segregation by client

Safety

• Responsible for overall safety protocol in winery o Identification of risks, development of policies & procedures, recordkeeping (MSDS etc.), forklift safety, fire extinguishers etc.

Recordkeeping

• Fill out detailed daily work orders as necessary
• Develop and keep records for all equipment maintenance and parts acquisition records
• Weekly data entry in database for all work performed on a daily basis with an eye for accuracy, integrity and meticulousness

Other

• Assist with wine related publications
• Attend regular internal tastings
• Attend weekly production meeting

• Pursue academic coursework as suggested by AW/WM to increase understanding the breadth of the production job
• Ensure all barrels are clearly numbered and white barrels clearly marked

Merkin Vineyards an EEO/AA/Minority/Female/Disability/Veteran employer.