Cellar Assistant Manager/Bottling Technician - Merkin Vineyards

Merkin Vineyards is a small Arizona Vineyard and Winery currently producing 8,000 cases. We work with a very diverse range of grapes grown at high elevation, both red and white. We are committed to improving quality every year with an intense focus on viticultural practices and wine quality. 

We are looking for a passionate and motivated individual to join us at our Caduceus Cellars Hilltop Facility, and work in a variety of roles. Previous experience of at least 5 years is required – a desire to work hard, pay close attention to details and learn fast is vital. This role involves a wide variety of responsibilities including but not limited to:

Maintenance/Mechanical
•  Develop and Implement a maintenance schedule for all winery mechanical systems including cellar, bottling and crush equipment
•  These systems include the electrical, plumbing, water/septic, and heating/cooling

Bottling
•  Responsible for scheduling and planning bottling logistics in conjunction with winemaking staff
•  Responsible for ordering all bottling and packaging materials
•  Responsible for training permanent and temporary staff on bottling line procedures and safety practices
•  Responsible for bottling line setup, breakdown and proper sanitization
•  Responsible for running line and actual bottling
•  Responsible for maintenance and upgrade of bottling line over time

Cellar
•  Responsible for planning and implementing all annual, regular cellar tasks with winemaking staff
•  Responsible for ensuring organization, cleanliness, and sanitation practices in cellar
•  Assist in blending, tasting trials and basic lab duties with winemaking staff
•  Responsible for spatial organization of barrel room
•  Inventory and purchase of cellar supplies, filter cartridges, chemicals, and all other equipment necessary to support operational activities Inventory and ordering of cellar 
materials and supplies

Harvest/Crush
•  Work with winemaking staff to plan for harvest and crush along with setting goals for quality achievement
•  Responsible with winemaking staff for fruit receipt, weighing, tagging, destemming and or pressing
•  Responsible with winemaking staff for fermentation management (punch down, pump overs, etc.)
•  Responsible for tank movements and barreling down during harvest

Administration
•  Ensure all paperwork related to cellar work orders is complete and accurate
•  Generate reports as needed for compliance

Misc. 
•  Responsible for all building and equipment safety compliance
•  Occasional transport wine to and from sister winery (bulk and case) 
•  Occasional driving to vineyards for fruit pickup during harvest
•  Occasional lab analysis tasks

Qualifications:
•  Self-motivated and directed
•  Strong organizational, problem-solving, and analytical skills
•  VIP - Interpersonal/team building skills
•  Experience and knowledge of all production areas, including harvest/crush, winemaking and cellar, 
barrels, bottling, mechanical maintenance, safety procedures, and sanitation
•  Must have strong execution and project management skills
•  Ability to understand and set priorities, work flow, and deadlines
•  Proven ability to handle multiple projects and meet deadlines
•  Skilled forklift operator
•  Ability to forklift bins of grapes, barrels/racks, pallets of wine 
•  Must have clean valid driver’s license
•  Must have reliable transportation
•  Ability to lift, pull, carry up to 50 lbs. on a repetitive basis
•  Ability to work occasional overtime, night and weekend work during harvest, and bottling as
to meet production needs
•  Must have 5+ years applicable experience
•  Previous lab experience is a plus

Caduceus Cellars and Merkin Vineyards are an EEO/AA/Minority/Female/Disability/Veteran employer.