How to become a Winery Worker

Duties & Tasks of a Winery Worker

Winery workers:

• Prepare soil, plant vines and cultivate and fertilise crops
• Construct wire trellises to support vines and fruit
• Control weeds, diseases and pests
• Assist in making wine by operating equipment to crush and ferment the grapes
• Assist in bottle fermentation by twining (turning the bottles) and re-topping during the process (for sparkling wines)
• Operate equipment to clarify and filter wine
• Make additions to wine, and blend and transfer wine during maturation
• Prepare wine for bottling
• Assist with barrel work and racking
• Assist with bottling, corking and general cleaning
• Assist in forwarding export orders
• Operate cellar door, including sales and administration.

Tasks

• Operates farm machines to cultivate, fertilise, spray and harvest grapes.
• Prunes vines.
• Selects and picks grapes according to size and ripeness, and discards rotting and over-ripened produce.
• Loads filled grape containers onto trucks.
• Grades, sorts, bunches and packs produce into containers.
• Builds trellises for climbing vines.
• Sprays vines and other plants with chemicals to control weed growth, insects, fungus growth and diseases.
• Irrigates land for crop growth.
• Plants vines and other plants using hand tools and farm machines.

Working conditions for a Winery Worker

A winery worker may be involved in all aspects of vineyard and cellar work or may specialise in one or more areas, such as cellar work, bottling, laboratory work, vineyard work, warehousing and packing, cellar door sales or export orders, depending on the size and type of winery.

Employment Opportunities for a Winery Worker

Most employment is in NSW, SA, Victoria and WA, with smaller wine industries present in Queensland and Tasmania. Wineries vary in size from small operations (perhaps family-owned) to large companies employing many people. Most positions for winery workers are seasonal and on a casual basis, with the strongest demand over the pruning and harvesting periods in the above-mentioned states. Formal training will enhance your long-term career prospects. Employment for cellar door attendants is linked to the wine tourism industry.

Specializations

Winery Supervisor

A winery supervisor provides on-the-job training to less experienced employees. Duties may include supervising process operations and coordinating the activities of workers; collecting, analysing and presenting statistical data; and carrying out environmental management programmes including food safety and occupational health and safety procedures.

Winery Worker

Winery workers are involved in growing grapes and making, bottling, warehousing, packaging, distributing and selling wine in Australia and overseas.

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  Average age

  44

• 

  Future Growth

  N/A

• 

  Gender Share

  25% female

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  Average full-time

  41 hours

• 

  Weekly Pay

  N/A

• 

  Skill level rating

  Entry level

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  Unemployment

  Higher Unemployment

• 

  Full-Time Share

  61%

• 

  Employment Size

  4,100

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  Employment by state

  ACT: 0.1%
  NSW: 10.9%
  NT: 0.0%
  QLD: 2.3%
  SA: 44.2%
  TAS: 8.0%
  VIC: 20.5%
  WA: 14.1%
  
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  Age brackets

  15-19: 3%
  20-24: 8.4%
  25-34: 17.6%
  35-44: 17.1%
  45-54: 21.4%
  55-59: 12.5%
  60-64: 10.1%
  65 and Over: 9.9%
  
• 

  Education level

  Advanced Diploma/Diploma: 5.7%
  Bachelor degree: 7.4%
  Certificate III/IV: 17.8%
  Post Graduate/Graduate Diploma or Graduate Certificate: 1.4%
  Year 10 and below: 35.3%
  Year 11: 11.2%
  Year 12: 21.1%