Danbury Ridge Wine Estate - Estate Manager
(Wine Jobs:
Vineyards & Cellars )
Full Time
Danbury Ridge Wine Estate
Essex,
England
An exciting new opportunity has arisen to join the team at Danbury Ridge Wine Estate to manage and maintain the estate and its vineyards. The successful candidate will have the unique opportunity to shadow award-winning and reknowned Viticulturalist, Duncan McNeill and through their vineyard role support the production of world-class wines including still Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
We are looking for a person who is committed to supporting the company’s ethos of continuous improvement and exceptional quality standards. The successful candidate will be able to demonstrate innovation to improve processes and procedures in all aspects of viticulture.
Main Responsibilities and Duties:
- Responsibility for weed and pest control including obtaining the appropriate spray licenses and application of pesticides
- Organise and execute frost management systems when required as directed by the Viticulturist
- Work with vineyard contractors/seasonal workers as directed by the viticulturist to supervise and complete tasks such as shoot thinning, pruning, tying down, bunch counting and crop thinning
- Record keeping for crop and historical farm data including labour, water, pesticides, yields and quality parameters. Records to be logged on Vintrace
- Record and evaluate climatic data and monitor weather station equipment
- Regular reporting throughout the growing season on vineyard trials, analysis and vine development
- Operate tractors and associated equipment
- Grape marc and lees disposal, composting and vineyard application
- Vineyard maintenance including irrigation systems, deer fencing etc
- Completion and maintenance of vineyard SOPs and risk assessments
- Assist in fruit receiving, grape sorting, destemming and bin dumping
- Vineyard sampling and associated laboratory work
- Grounds keeping of winery including: winery vineyard, grass cutting, plantings and pathways
Qualifications and Skills:
- Graduate of Oenology or a minimum of 3 years relevant experience
- Appropriate candidates must obtain under their own accord a valid permit to live and work in the UK
- Experienced tractor driver
- Full, clean driving licence
- Forklift licence (preferred)
- Experience of using Vintrace (preferred)
- Competency in the use of Microsoft programmes such as Word, Excel and Outlook