Alchemist & Amity Vineyard Interns

Union Wine Company (UWC) is on the hunt for go-getters interested in helping us make our top-tier wines for Harvest 2024!

About Us: Union Wine Company is a community-oriented industrial winery in Tualatin, Oregon. We care more about the wine you drink than the glass you drink it in, no white tablecloths here. Fussiness bores us. Innovation excites us. And bringing great wine – whether it be in bottles or cans – to the table, picnic blanket or chairlift – is what drives us each and every day.

We’re a close-knit team that operates on a simple set of values: work hard, be kind, laugh often, be responsible, act with honesty and integrity, don’t take yourself too seriously and treat others with respect. We don’t stop there though. We have a huge amount of respect for our planet and the bounty it gives us year-in and year-out. Union Wine Co. is LIVE certified, our Amity Vineyard is Salmon Safe, we’re volunteering time to clean a section of the Clackamas River and are a certified B-Corp company. If you care about the planet, you’ll be in good company at Union.

About our Winery: UWC lies in the beautiful Willamette Valley only 20 minutes from Portland, Oregon. We pride ourselves on working hard, with honesty and accountability, and showing kindness, all while ensuring we don’t take ourselves too seriously. Founded in 2005, we have grown over time into a facility that processes 6000 tons of quality Oregon-grown grapes, making wines of the highest quality with a little less fuss.

We’re looking for qualified applicants of all backgrounds and identities to join us for the 2024 harvest. Union Wine Company is committed to building an inclusive, supportive place for you to do the best and most rewarding work of your career.

Job Summary: Our Alchemist/Amity interns will spend most of their time in the ‘Small lot’ part of the winery processing approximately 200 tons of fruit designated to our Alchemist and Amity Vineyards brands. This position will start around the first of September and conclude in early November. Because Willamette Valley fruit typically ripens later than other Oregon AVAs, you can expect to also assist in the larger facility at the start of harvest.

Essential Functions
•  Follow all safety procedures and policies
•  Sanitation of tanks, lines, equipment (we do a lot of cleaning)
•  Daily cellar work:
o Fruit processing, including sorting
o Inoculation
o Cap management: pumpovers and punchdowns
o Additions: nutrients, acid, potassium metabisulfite
o Drain, dig-out and press red ferments
•  Barrel cleaning, filling, and stacking
•  Forklift and scissor lift operation
•  Attention to detail and ability to follow instructions
•  Teamwork!

Minimum Requirements
•  1 previous harvest
•  Schedule flexibility: 6 shifts per week, including evenings and weekends
•  A positive, ‘can-do’ attitude with the ability to laugh it off
•  Possess strong written and verbal communication skills
•  Ability to work independently and as a team
•  Able to lift and carry up to 50lbs (22.7kg)
•  Ability to stand and walk for up to 10 hours, six days a week
•  Ability to work at heights up to 30 feet

The good stuff
•  Competitive hourly wage with overtime: DOE
•  1 scheduled day off per week
•  Daily catered lunch during the peak of harvest, with plenty of coffee, tea and snacks
•  Participate in tastings led by Winemakers and Enologist
•  Post-shift beverages
•  Fashionable high-vis vests
•  Swag
•  Friends for life

Work Environment
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently exposed to changes in temperature, indoor and outdoor weather conditions, fumes or airborne particles, moving mechanical parts and vibration. The noise level in the work environment and job sites can be loud.

Physical Demands
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential function of this job.
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk and hear. This position is very active and requires standing, walking, bending, kneeling, stooping, crouching, crawling, and climbing all day. The employee must frequently lift and/or move items over 50 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.

Other Duties
Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.