The Winemaker is responsible for the day-to-day management of winemaking operations for a large-scale winery producing approximately 300,000 cases annually, across numerous winery brands. This role oversees all stages of wine production—from grape intake through fermentation, aging, blending, stabilization, and bottling—while maintaining consistent wine quality and adherence to established brand styles.
The Winemaker provides operational leadership during harvest and throughout the production cycle, ensuring effective coordination across multiple cellar operations, including winemaking at varying scales, laboratory functions, vineyard operations, and bottling preparation. The role works closely with the Viticulture Operations (VitOps) team to ensure proper grape maturity, harvest timing, and fruit quality. Oversight and execution of winemaking programs produced in the Estate Winery is the key role of the Estate Winemaker. This will include multiple brands across a range of price points, as well as the production of wines under brands directed by other winemakers.
This position collaborates across departments to ensure wines are produced efficiently, meet quality standards, and align with production schedules and brand expectations.
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Essential Duties & Responsibilities
Winemaking Operations
•  Manage the full cycle of winemaking operations from grape harvest through bottling.
•  Monitor grape harvesting activities and evaluate fruit chemistry, maturity, and condition to determine processing decisions.
•  Oversee grape receiving, crushing, fermentation management, pressing, and wine finishing activities.
•  Closely monitor fermentation temperatures, extraction techniques, and pressing schedules to ensure quality and consistency.
•  Establish harvest-season winemaking standards, including grape sugar levels, acidity targets, processing protocols, and finishing specifications.
•  Integrate harvest plans with available winery resources, including tanks, fermenters, and processing capacity.
•  Provide oversight into all winemaking conducted within the facility, ensuring both Estate and non-estate programs meet established quality and stylistic expectations.
•  Collaborate with cellar leadership to ensure proper execution of winemaking directives during fermentation, aging, and racking activities.

Viticulture & Estate Coordination
•  Work closely with Viticulture Operations (VitOps) to monitor vineyard conditions, grape maturity, and harvest timing.
•  Collaborate with vineyard teams to align farming practices with winemaking goals and desired wine styles.
•  Evaluate grape chemistry, flavor development, and vineyard conditions to determine harvest decisions.
•  Ensure all incoming fruit- estate and contracted- is processed efficiently and handled in accordance with quality standards and production priorities.

Technical & Laboratory Oversight
•  Oversee laboratory analysis of juice and wine chemistry including Brix, pH, TA, SO2 levels, and fermentation progress.
•  Coordinate and supervise microbiological monitoring programs to ensure wine stability and prevent spoilage organisms.
•  Direct wine and juice bench trials related to fining, stabilization, filtration, and quality improvements.
•  Lead blending panels and sensory evaluations to develop and refine final wine blends aligned with brand profiles.
•  Evaluate laboratory data and sensory feedback to guide fermentation management, blending decisions, and wine finishing protocols.
•  Ensure wines meet quality specifications and stability requirements prior to bottling.

Production Planning & Bottling Coordination
•  Participate in annual crush planning and harvest strategy, coordinating grape intake schedules with tank space, fermentation capacity, and cellar operations.
•  Work closely with the bottling department to prepare wines for packaging and ensure wines meet required quality and stability standards prior to bottling.
•  Coordinate with bottling teams regarding timing, production schedules, and final wine readiness.
•  Monitor production timelines to ensure wines are properly stabilized, blended, and prepared according to bottling and release schedules.

Leadership & Team Collaboration
•  Provide technical guidance and leadership to assistant winemakers, cellar staff, and laboratory personnel.
•  Communicate winemaking plans and expectations clearly to cellar teams, particularly during harvest operations.
•  Support training and development of cellar and technical staff.
•  Foster collaboration between vineyard, cellar, laboratory, and bottling teams to support seamless production operations.

Qualifications
•  Bachelor’s degree in Enology, Viticulture, Fermentation Science, or related field preferred.
•  Minimum 5–10 years of progressive winemaking experience, preferably in a medium-to-large winery environment.
•  Experience managing fermentation programs and large harvest operations.
•  Strong knowledge of wine chemistry, microbiology, fermentation science, and blending techniques.
•  Experience coordinating blending programs, stabilization, and bottling preparation.
•  Ability to manage multiple production priorities in a fast-paced harvest environment.

Key Competencies
•  Wine sensory evaluation and blending expertise
•  Fermentation management and harvest operations
•  Wine chemistry and microbiological stability
•  Production planning and operational coordination
•  Technical problem-solving and quality management
•  Team leadership and collaboration