Advice for working a harvest...

Greetings,

My niece just graduated from HS, and was always planning a gap year prior to her starting university. However, her mother just informed me that she would like to work a harvest season and asked me if I had any contacts or ideas of how to get involved with a winery???
My niece seems more interested in the farming aspect than the winemaking. Of anyone has a contact or suggestion I would appreciate the information and will act on it, or pass it on!

Thank you,

Hiward

I have none, but I suggest also posting in the ITB Forum

Is she interested in Oregon/Willamette Valley? Can forward suggestions… But regardless check this board for harvest positions (among other jobs) throughout the US: Wine Jobs

Sounds like a summer vineyard job could be a good idea. Perhaps reach out to a vineyard management company and see what aspects of jobs she might be interested in.

Both my kids counted clusters for Results Partners the summer before starting college. It’s a good experience to work with the land, she’ll be in great shape too.

Check the “Cellar Rats” sub-forum, since there’s plenty of advice there.

Vineyard work is year 'round. There’s plenty of work to do now, so finding and starting work now is a good way to get “in” and prove yourself valuable, well before harvest. It’s also lower risk. The winery won’t be in much of a jam if someone decides the work is not for them. So, a winery that may not want to take on an unproven newbie for harvest, might be fine trying someone out now.

You can check WineJobs.com for harvest internships. I worked crush (cut short by the Northern California fires) last year. It was something I always wanted to do and being out of ‘work’ made it possible. Long hours doing a myriad of different activities though I appreciated the insights it gave me every time I look at a tech sheet now. Vineyard work is likely more specific requiring accurate record keeping but with maybe more independence.