Vineyard Manager
(Wine Jobs:
Vineyards & Cellars )
Full Time
East Sussex,
England
Oxney Organic Estate, the largest single estate organic vineyard in the UK, is looking for a vineyard manager. Located on the very eastern edge of East Sussex, on the border to Kent, Oxney has a dynamic and progressive outlook and is looking for an ambitious professional to join the team.
The vineyard, part of an 850 acre farming estate, spans 14 hectares all on one site - the first tranche was planted between 2012 and 2014 and the second tranche was planted this year. The vines are Pinot Noir, Pinot Noir Precoce, Pinot Meunier, Chardonnay and Seyval Blanc – to make sparkling and still wines in our on-site winery. Our wines win a number of high profile accolades every year and the vineyard is increasingly becoming known as a high quality, environmentally friendly producer.
The vineyard has top of the range equipment and this is an opportunity to build on the owners’ work and drive the vineyard forward in terms of quality, yield and efficiency.
If you are excited about viticulture in a cold climate and want to take ownership of a vineyard this is the job for you.
Essential skills are:
Experience and qualifications in cool climate viticulture
Insight into and interest in vineyard machinery – the ability to use it (e.g. PA3) but also to execute daily/weekly maintenance routines
The ability to work with the existing team members – the owners, winemaker and part time finance and marketing staff
Proficiency in managing contract vineyard labour teams, as well as recruiting and assembling a local team when required
Flexibility and the understanding that the job isn’t always 9-5 - frost protection, spraying programmes and other work has to take place when required
Salary depends on experience.