Winemaker

Permanent Full-time position

Quai du Vin Estate Winery
45811 Fruit Ridge Line
St.Thomas, ON
N5P 3S9

Quai Du Vin Estate Winery is a boutique winery, surrounded by picturesque grounds & operating inside a charming, vintage-style facility in Sparta, Ontario along Lake Erie’s pastoral North Shore.

We are looking to hire a solid, dependable individual as our Winemaker to join our seasoned team to ensure that our wine is flowing, our brand is growing & our customers remain as pleased as always! The successful candidate’s job will be varied, and no two days will be the same!

Reporting to the General Manager this position is a full-time permanent role and you’ll be expected to maintain and grow the current portfolio to the highest possible standards. This will be a rewarding position, ideal for a hands-on winemaker with the ability to lead and work with a small team of passionate wine professionals.

What You Can Expect:

• Dedicated to crafting quality wines, providing value to our customers, and continuing to improve
• Execute and oversee grape receiving, crushing, and pressing and wine production operations during harvest
• Supervises Assistant Winemakers and / or other staff (if assigned)
• Participate in wine tasting at all stages throughout the winemaking process and responsible for conducting evaluation and recommendation of treatments
• Write process orders for all production related tasks from harvest to bottling
• Responsible for supervising, training, and mentoring all cellar employees, as assigned
• Conduct and manage experiments, including reporting the results, in relation to wine quality
• Work as a team with all staff on all blends to ensure wine profiles are being adequately filled and bottling requirements are met on time
• Responsible for adhering to Provincial and Federal regulations
• Perform Cellar tasks such as cleaning & sanitizing equipment, apply good housekeeping practices, perform wine movements, top barrels, operate less complex equipment, measure and calculate workplace data
• Operate moderately complex winery equipment
• Capable of double-checking calculation to maintain integrity and quality of wines
• Ensures safe and efficient utilization of all winery equipment
• Assist in leading harvest employees to achieve daily, weekly, and monthly work tasks
• Provides guidance and support to staff to increase skill and knowledge
• Provide feedback to staff on best practices
• Ability to troubleshoot and problem solve cellar issues
• Ensures timely and accurate completion of all wine work orders
• Will conduct educational tastings and tours of the facility, when needed
• Contributes to the continuous improvement of the winemaking process and procedures
• Manages and directs production processes to maximize production capacity and efficiency without compromising adherence to the highest standards of safety, quality, regulatory compliance, and the Company's vision
• Assures effective communication among all staff and the owners of the Winery
• Responsible for compliance with sustainability policies and practices which are economically viable, socially acceptable and environmentally sound
• Follow safe operating procedures, support safety programs and policies to safeguard personal safety, company property, environmental and team member’s safety

Administrative

• Strong interpersonal skills to develop relationships with our supply and service vendors and interdepartmental teams
• Manage bulk shipping and receiving schedules
• Ensure wines are stable and approved for bottling with the correct state of the process established
• Maintain accurate production, manufacturing & Health & Safety records

You Will:

• Develop and maintain year over year plans for winemaking, blending, and bottling operations for all wine programs including red, white, dessert, and sparkling
• This person will successfully execute projects which create operational efficiencies, improve revenue and/or improve quality
• Craft wine styles for new brands requested by sales
• Guide process optimization by leveraging winemaking expertise, research, and technological expertise
• Deliver on strategies to solve business issues/needs
• Identify opportunities to improve winemaking procedures through written SOPs, Forms, Templates, etc.
• Ensure that all daily and weekly wine activities such as bulk wine work orders, daily checks, and partial tank clean up are being performed
• Work across departments such as the cellar, bottling, and sales
• Develop and understand priorities for winemaking operations in an ever-changing production environment
• Plan and execute vintage change
• Coordinate pre-bottling winemaking and wine blending activities to ensure that wine is prepared on time and on budget
• Maintain records of wine blending operations
• Maintain up to the moment inventories of bulk wine
• Quality assurance and quality control of bulk wine and intake and processing
• Review complete chemical profile analysis of all wine and juice entering winery, whether as bulk wine, grape juice
• Other duties as assigned

Education and/or Experience

· Winemaking or related degree

· 1 – 3 years of Winery/Cellar/Vineyard experience is a must

· Forklift and tractor experience a plus

· Ability to lift 55 lbs

• Experience working with Alcohol & Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) and/or Ontario Wine Application Authority (VQA) is an asset
• Familiarity with ACGO marketing rules and guidelines for wine sales is an asset

Minimum Qualifications

• Ability to problem solve and troubleshoot to avoid issue escalation
• Ability to work independently and to complete tasks promptly
• Must have knowledge and experience with multiple varietals
• Have outstanding knowledge of winemaking techniques and processes
• Strong sense of urgency to meet winemaking and production deadlines
• Knowledge of production costing methods
• Must be able to manage a high paced production environment
• Must have outstanding wine blending skills
• Must possess a complete understanding of the wine manufacturing and wine production process
• Must be able to skillfully operate all basic Cellar equipment
• Must be able to work various shifts and overtime as needed
• Must be able to operate machinery
• Must know how to use hand tools
• Good organizational and multi-task skills
• Computer skills

Licenses and/or Certifications

• Valid Driver’s License and insurance
• Smart Serve

Job Type: Full-time

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift

Work Location: One location

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