Dehlinger is a family owned and operated winery that has been in operation since 1975. Our wines have a reputation that outstrips our physical size. We focus on producing the highest quality Estate grown Pinot noir, Chardonnay and Syrah from our vineyards located within the Laguna Ridge neighborhood of Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley.

We are seeking two highly motivated Harvest Cellar Hands to join our staff for the 2026 harvest season. The harvest experience at Dehlinger is very rewarding and offers the opportunity to work closely with the winemaking team in a quality-focused, intellectual environment.

Our Harvest Cellar Hands can expect training and experience in the following (but are not limited to):

•  Facility and equipment cleaning and set up
•  Confined space entry: oxygen monitoring, measurement recording; following confined space entry procedure
•  Electric forklift operation (Dehlinger Winery, LLC. certified): tipping grapes into the destemmer’s hopper; tipping destemmed grapes into fermenters; moving bins, barrels, racks and pallets
•  Scissor lift operation: pneumatic punchdown device mounted to the scissor lift
•  Pump operation: pump overs, barrel filling
•  Destemmer set up, operation, breakdown and cleaning
•  Fermentation monitoring: sampling fermenters; measuring Brix (utilizing Anton Paar DMA’s) and temperature; recording analysis on paper records and in our winemaking software; delivering samples to the laboratory and centrifugation of samples
•  Transfer of grape stems to compost using all-terrain vehicles
•  Winemaking additions
•  Preparation of cooperage: placement; washing; soaking and emptying
•  Bottling

The preferred start date is August 3rd 2026. The projected end date is sometime between the end of October and early November. The actual end date is dependent on the season.

During the peak harvest period which is usually the months of September and October, our Harvest Cellar Hand will be expected to work 6 days a week. During the non-peak periods our Harvest Cellar Hand will be expected to work 5 days per week. This is dependent on the season.

Compensation is $21 to $23 per hour dependent on experience with overtime based on California law.

Because we have a small staff, our Harvest Cellar Hand must be dependable, adaptable and be able to commit to the harvest period and not drop out prior to or during harvest.

Ideal qualifications:

•  Passion for wine and a desire to have a career in the wine industry
•  Coursework in Viticulture and/or Enology
•  Previous wine industry and forklift experience
•  Strong work ethic and a positive attitude
•  Ability to work long and variable hours on a flexible schedule. Reliable and punctual
•  Ability to perform strenuous physical tasks, such as lifting up to 50 pounds, repetitive movements, bending down, and ascend/descend ladders
•  Ability to lawfully work in the USA

In order to properly apply and receive a response please send BOTH of the following items:

1. Cover letter:
•  Tell us about yourself and your past and present work and wine experience
•  Let us know what you can contribute to our team and what you would hope to get out of a harvest experience with Dehlinger
•  Include the dates you are available to work

2. Resume

Please send BOTH items requested above to Associate Winemaker Matt Standing: dehlingerharvest2026@gmail.com with the email subject line ‘Harvest Cellar Hand’.