Winemaking Harvest Internship Opportunity: Looking for Texans Interested in California Experience
Forwarded from Randy Hester, zrandyhester@gmail.com
I am coming up on my 10th harvest in Napa Valley but my first position was a cellar internship in 2006, and the knowledge I gained from it is immeasurable. Because the Texas wine industry is growing so quickly, I would like to share a great opportunity with my fellow Texans again this year. I have set up a referral system with the same winery I worked with to start my career and am happy to assist in setting up an interview for a position this fall.
The Texas Wine Drinkers forum is packed with parents, friends, students, winery people, vineyard people, and consumers who love Texas wines. If you know of anyone interested in working this fall in Napa Valley, please message me on Facebook or by email and I can provide you more detail and information.
And this was the recent call to action that I’ve initiated:
Fellow Texas wine drinkers, please encourage your favorite wineries to send applicants my way. The sacrifice they make this year to get one or two of their employees some excellent training will pay tremendous dividends immediately upon their return and for years to come. Jeff Cope, Russell Kane, Denise Clarke, Katy Jane Seaton, January Wiese, anything you can do to spread the word would be greatly appreciated. This industry is growing at a fantastic rate, and with all of the newly planted vineyards coming on line in the next few year we need skilled workers!
I have had a few responses, and here is the gist of what I have sent those folks:
Thank you for reaching out. I started my winemaking career with this fantastic winery and they have agreed to interview people that I send their way. This is a paid internship in Napa, lasting approximately from August through November. Applicants would need a driver’s license, your own transportation, and temporary housing. (Harvest housing is readily available across the valley through rental agencies. Options include spare bedrooms, guest houses, etc., and even the winery has rooms to rent on a first come first served basis.) They will learn a broad range of cellar operations at a high level, and at a volume that provides plenty of repetition and practice. My hope is that anyone who goes through this experience will be able to jump right in to any production facility in Texas and be a highly productive member of that team. In your case maybe that means taking yourself and your team to a whole different level.
If you or anyone you know is interested please send me an updated resume and a quick note on your goals in the wine industry. From there I would like to connect with a phone call to talk more about the ins and outs.
Thank you so much for your time and your interest. Please spread the word this summer and let’s get some Texas winery folks some good training. I look forward to meeting you at some point or another down the road.
Randy Hester
