Cellar Hand (Wine Jobs: Vineyards & Cellars )

  Chapel Down Winery

  Tenterden, England

 

The Opportunity

This is an exciting opportunity for someone with cellar experience to help deliver the next phase of development for the UK’s leading wine producer. It requires an individual who can work efficiently and methodically, alone and as part of a team.  This is a full-time role and being available for longer hours over the harvest and bottling period is essential.

About Chapel Down

Chapel Down is England’s leading winemaker with a mission to change the way the World thinks about English wine forever. Its talented winemakers produce world-class sparkling and still wines from grapes grown on the chalky terroir in the South-East. The Chapel Down winery, based in the picturesque market town of Tenterden in Kent, with excellent visitor facilities and welcomes over 55,000 visitors each year.

The company is listed on Aquis Exchange and as well as strong, institutional backing, has a large number of individual shareholders, in excess of 8,500 all of whom are strong advocates of the brand and its products.  Our multi award-winning wines are sold direct to consumers through a fast growing e-commerce business and to retail partners, including Waitrose, M&S, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Majestic, Selfridges and Harrods, as well as leading bars, restaurants and hotels in the UK and internationally.

Regularly receiving international accolades, Chapel Down is also an official wine supplier to 10 Downing Street and is the first English winery to ever feature in the London Stock Exchange’s 1,000 Companies to Inspire Britain.

The business is focused on being a pure play wine producer having exited its hospitality offering, the Gin Works in Kings Cross, London in early 2020 plus having completed the sale of its craft beer business (Curious Brew) in early 2021. 

 

The Role

Reporting to the Assistant Winemaker, the Cellar Hand will be based in Tenterden, Kent. The primary duty is to ensure that our wines are made to world class quality standards from pressing through to bottling. This will involve high level of attention to detail and a broad understanding of wine production processes and techniques. Quality and safety are key parts of this role. They will be responsible for the execution of work plans to produce of a range of still, carbonated and traditional method wines. Occasional supervision of staff will be required but the majority of the role is hands-on.

The Cellar Hand must have good organisational and communication skills in addition to being self-starting and willing to work as part of a small team.

 

Responsibilities

·         The supervision of night shift during harvest. Alongside the other Cellar Hand/s you will be responsible for the supervision of processing and pressing fruit. Amongst other duties this will include crushing, destemming, filling presses, juice additions, juice movements, flotation, racking, cleaning, inoculations, enrichments etc.

·         The efficient implementation of work orders and daily plans

·         Maintaining accurate records of winery work

·         Cellar responsibilities will include: Wine movements, Barrel  work, Additions, Racking, Filtration, Winery Sanitation,         Equipment Maintenance etc.

·         Implementation of H&S policies and maintaining a safe and enjoyable working atmosphere

·         Keeping all work areas clean and tidy

·         Helping with the bottling of small batch wines when required  

About you

·         You will have a practical and theoretical interest in winemaking and/or Oenology

·         You will be organised, able to multi-task, manage time brilliantly, prioritise and work independently

·         You are highly motivated, especially when it comes to improving quality

·         You are a great communicator

·         You have no fear in carrying out physical hard work, sometimes at heights and whatever the weather!

·         Experience working hands on work in a winery is preferred

What we can offer you

·         A contributory pension

·         20 days holiday plus bank holidays

·         A generous discount on all Chapel Down products

·         A forward-thinking team with the opportunity to shape English winemaking

 

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