Sparkling Winemaker

Poste

Lead the team delivering the highest quality sparkling wine while driving new product innovation!

$120,000 - $150,000

Full Benefits Package (Medical, Dental, Vision)

Permanent, Full Tim e

Yountville, CA (on-site mode)

One day back in 1968, as Robert Jean de Vog at the time President of Mot & Chandon, was attending a distributors' conference in California, he inadvertently found himself in the wrong room. Members of the Wine Institute of California were gathered there, discussing, and tasting. The wrong room turned out to be the right room. An idea was born: CHANDON would again lead the way as the first champagne house led sparkling outpost in the USA. Today, CHANDON California, as part of LVMH - Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, pushes the limits of the state of the art to produce sparkling wines that are US market leaders.

We are excited to announce the opportunity of Sparkling Winemaker is now available. Come join one of the most innovative Maisons pushing the boundaries of new product development and consistent, high-quality sparkling wine products. You will work out of our Yountville, CA cellar. Situated in the beautiful natural landscape of the Napa Valley, it will make coming to the work a treat.

You will oversee leading the day-to-day activities in the cellar for Sparkling and still wines alike. You will have the freedom to improve our processes, try new product ideas, while researching new techniques. Like our homegrown Garden Spritz Tea, you will use your maverick spirit, like our founder, to explore Un Monde de Possibilites. You will be at the helm of an operational effort producing over 700,000 cases of sparkling and still wine annually, distributed all over the country.

You are someone who makes health and safety the top priority in the cellar. You are a leader who builds positive, collaborative, team culture. You empower others to grow and develop and take on new challenges. You have a strategic and operational-focused mindset to ensure all aspects of winemaking protocols are executed to the highest standard.

We offer competitive wages, incentives and benefits including heavily subsided medical coverage and life insurances for you and your family; a 401k matching program; generous wine allocation and discounts; an employee assistance program, a regular produce box, lifestyle, home internet and phone reimbursements (benefits and perks may vary by contract type).

All applications will be reviewed quickly with a guaranteed response. If you'd like to reach me directly to discuss, please text me at [redacted] to set up a time to chat, Michael Castaneda.

Health & Safety:

• Be proactive in the approach to health and safety; ensuring active engagement, and compliance with all safety requirements, company policies, procedures, and regulatory requirements to maintain a safe working environment.
• Create a positive culture by role modeling appropriate behaviors and encouraging teams to speak up about safety.
• Ensure strict adherence to contractor management - a strong area of safety risk.
• Report all hazards, incidents, injuries and near misses in accordance with the relevant procedures.
• Conduct departmental inspections as outlined in company procedures.

People & Culture

• As a leader and escalating issues through the proper communication channels.
• Lead, manage and develop technical skills.
• Build a culture which embraces safety, quality, innovation and alignment to company goals as key values.
• Share winemaking knowledge amongst the DCC team and encourage a strong learning and development culture

Strategic & Operational planning

• Under the guidance of the Winemaking Director, drive and review all activities involved in the sparkling wine production process.
• Develop and ensure execution of winemaking protocols.
• Manage, Monitor, and maintain quality of bulk wines.
• Ensure production plans and quality parameters are met.
• Provide direction and technical support for winemaking, lab, and cellar
• Direct management of Assistant Winemaker
• Work closely with laboratory and cellar to ensure the winemaking protocols are executed in a quality and timely manner.
• Coordinate with Lab and Winemaking to build and maintain yeast cultures with the highest sanitation standards.
• Responsible for the creation and distribution of weekly Cellar work schedules.
• Responsible for the coordination and implementation of daily Cellar activities to meet both production schedule requirements and wine quality standards through the Winemaking and Operations Schedules as well as maintaining cellar cleaning routine.
• Ensure compliance and Record Keeping for winemaking, cellar and lab departments: Ensure work orders are recorded in winemaking software (Innovint) to ensure an accurate bulk wine database and bioterrorism compliance through receival and tracking of various chemicals/additives.
• Lead and direct Cellar crew in conducting monthly bulk wine inventory based on Finance department requirements.
• Define the best way to execute winemaking program while maintaining high quality standards and be cost conscientious.
• Responsible for coordinating tastings and recommending appropriate action in consultation with the Winemaking team.

Technical/Product Quality, winemaking development

• Initiate and direct completion of winemaking trials
• Participate in blending, tasting, and decisions and required changes to achieve the final profile for each of the wines.
• Assist with dosage recommendations and coordinate tastings among the winemaking team
• Ensure quality parameters are met in terms of bottling, lab analysis, blending and other cellar operations
• Maintain an active awareness of industry trends, developments, and research activities.

Innovation / New Product development

• Participate and lead in developing new products.
• Design and lead experimental projects relating to grape, wine quality.
• Researching and implement new procedures and techniques.
• Keep abreast of trends and technical changes in winemaking and cellar operations via wine literature, conferences and networking.