Snake River Winery and Arena Valley Vineyard is a long established family owned and operated winery and vineyard operation located 40 miles west of Boise, Idaho.

Job Title: Assistant Winemaker

Reports To: Winemaker/GM

Position Summary: The Assistant Winemaker supports the Winemaker in all aspects of wine production, from harvest through bottling. This hands-on role involves overseeing cellar operations, managing fermentation and aging processes, ensuring quality control, and helping develop wines that reflect the vision of the winery. The Assistant Winemaker will also assist in sales, attending events, tastings, and other sales opportunities. Additionally the Assistant Winemaker will be involved in some vineyard operations, including petiole sampling, grape sampling, harvest estimates, and monitoring overall health of the vines.

Key Responsibilities:

Harvest Coordination:
•  Assist in planning and executing harvest operations
•  Monitor Grape maturity and fruit sampling
•  Supervise grape processing, sorting, and crushing

Fermentation Management:
•  Track and manage fermentations
•  Oversee cap management, additions, and press decisions
•  Maintain detailed fermentation records

Cellar Operations:
•  Direct and perform racking, transfers, barrel topping, fining, blending, and filtration
•  Operate and maintain winery equipment, including pumps, press, lift conveyor, destemmer crusher, filters, hoses, and bottling line
•  Monitor wine quality through sampling, tasting, lab testing and analysis
•  Ensure sanitation and safety protocols are followed in all production areas


Bottling and Packaging:
•  Assist in preparing wines for bottling (stability, filtering, final blends)
•  Ensure bottling line sanitation and setup pre-bottling
•  Participate and supervise bottling operations

Inventory and Compliance:
•  Help manage inventory of barrels, additives, winemaking supplies, and packaging
•  Assist with record-keeping for TTB and other regulatory compliance

Qualifications
•  2+ years of winemaking or cellar experience (preferred, but educational experience will be considered)
•  Strong understanding of winemaking process and lab analysis
•  Mechanical aptitude for winery equipment and troubleshooting
•  Ability to lift 50 lbs, work long hours during harvest, and operate in a physically demanding environment
•  Forklift experience or ability to learn.
•  Excellent communication, organizational, and problem-solving skills
•  Self-starter. Ability to see what needs to be done and get going without direction as you may often be working alone.
•  Must have a valid driver’s license and be legal to work in the United States


Compensation:
•  Salary commensurate with experience and education