Florida Jim
Florida Jim
Winery work is mostly about cleaning - equipment, barrels, floors, tanks, presses, etc. The work is physical and the hours are long. It was not uncommon for the custom crush facility that I worked in to run 24/7 during harvest.
A custom crush is a complete winery where many owners (alternating proprietors, as they’re known in the trade) of smaller production labels make wine using common equipment. I paid for my use of the facility by the ton of fruit processed and extra for the use of particular equipment not standard to the process.
Working in the winery was the best part of the whole wine experience.
Of the 28 different labels that worked out of our building, the amount of physical assistance and advice I received from each team was remarkable. People in production do not seem as cut-throat as people in sales. It always felt like we were all working together to make everyone’s wine the best it could be. And if it meant staying late to help others, that was the norm.
While some of the labels I worked with owned vineyards, most did not. Purchased fruit from local growers was the usual and many of us had long term contracts on particular plots or rows.
Growers are mostly farmers or vineyard management companies that often sell by the ton. So there was always a balance point between the number of tons that was profitable for the grower and the (usually) fewer number of tons that the winemaker thought would make the best wine. I was fortunate to work with folks who wanted to make money but also wanted to gain a name for themselves and their vineyards with quality wines. Even so, the relationships could be strained from time to time.
A custom crush is a complete winery where many owners (alternating proprietors, as they’re known in the trade) of smaller production labels make wine using common equipment. I paid for my use of the facility by the ton of fruit processed and extra for the use of particular equipment not standard to the process.
Working in the winery was the best part of the whole wine experience.
Of the 28 different labels that worked out of our building, the amount of physical assistance and advice I received from each team was remarkable. People in production do not seem as cut-throat as people in sales. It always felt like we were all working together to make everyone’s wine the best it could be. And if it meant staying late to help others, that was the norm.
While some of the labels I worked with owned vineyards, most did not. Purchased fruit from local growers was the usual and many of us had long term contracts on particular plots or rows.
Growers are mostly farmers or vineyard management companies that often sell by the ton. So there was always a balance point between the number of tons that was profitable for the grower and the (usually) fewer number of tons that the winemaker thought would make the best wine. I was fortunate to work with folks who wanted to make money but also wanted to gain a name for themselves and their vineyards with quality wines. Even so, the relationships could be strained from time to time.