I'm a consultant/contract winemaker and vineyard manager.
During harvest (2 - 3 months of the year) I'm working with a winery helping with production, overseeing and sampling grapes coming in, allocating appropriate tank and barrel space, ensuring correct and accurate additions are made, checking lab analyses, hooking up hoses, pumping wine, overseeing hygiene and cleanliness of winery, initiating fermentation, monitoring fermentations, getting wine into barrel etc.
The rest of the year I'm working with vineyards, making sure that the correct work is done at the correct time and done properly, especially pesticide spraying, but also pruning, trellising, leaf canopy managment, monitoring growth, sampling etc.
I can't express how much I love my job... it's not work for me, it's a fulfilling lifestyle with monetary reward! Sure, for 2 months of the year I get maybe 1 day a week off and work 12 - 15 hours a day, but I wouldn't trade it for any other job.
The only part that sucks is being away from my wife for a couple of months during harvest, depending on location. On the flip side, I've made wine in England, France, California, and South Africa, so seeing these places is awesome!
