Viticulturist (Wine Jobs: Vineyards & Cellars )

  Poplar Grove Winery (http://www.poplargrove.ca)

  Penticton, BC, British Columbia

Winery is a progressive, quality driven established seeking a full-time viticulturist to manage the viticulture program to obtain winery objectives on quality and yield for wine grape production. Winery is producing 15,000 cases of wine from our own vineyards located in the Penticton and Osoyoos area. 

RESPONSIBILITIES
- Monitor vineyards for pest and diseases and provide an integrated pest management program to vineyard management as appropriate to solve problems.
- Monitor soil and vine status to determine fertilizer and compost programs to achieve soil health and robust soil organism and to target yields and quality tier on a block by block basis.
- Provide work orders for labour functions such as canopy management, shoot and cluster thinning to achieve target yields and quality tier on a block by block basis.
- Monitor soil and/or vine status to develop irrigation programs to achieve target yields and soil moisture profiles on a block by block basis.
- Monitor, analyze and report on vine and soil status including moisture, nutrition, disease and pest management, vine phonology and grape quality.
- Make recommendations in the form of work orders for all growing practices and methods on existing and new vineyard developments.
- Communicate viticulture recommendations in the form of work orders and decisions to Vineyard Management.
- make recommendations for all work and all chemical and fertilizer used in the vineyards that fully comply with all provincial and federal regulations
- all viticulture recommendations or work orders should be aimed at continuous improvement in vineyard sustainability programs developed either by the winery or by the BC grape industry.
- Manage the compost programs and soil amendment programs as required and approved.
- carry out quality control assessments on all vineyard viticulture recommended work
- Track all viticulture programs on computer databases for future review.
- Any other duties as required.

POSITION REQUIREMENTS
- Degree in viticulture, plant sciences or related program
- Minimum of 3 years proven experience growing grapes
- Proven knowledge in vineyard interventions including irrigation, nutrition, pruning, canopy management, and pest and disease management
- Experience using technology for capture and reporting (e.g., GPS data collection systems)
- Detail Oriented
- Organized
- Analytical
- Team Player
- Outstanding communication skills
- Strong computer skills

WORKING CONDITIONS
- outdoors in potentially inclement weather
- indoors at a workstation with computer
- in vehicle driving between sites
- Overtime and flexible working hours are required at times

Salary: $50,000.00 annually plus benefits