Winegrower And Estate Manager

An opportunity has become available for a motivated individual to join one of Australia’s most exciting boutique vineyards at Stargazer Wines. This role represents an outstanding career opportunity to be a crucial part of a small but dynamic team.

Based in Tasmania’s Coal River Valley (thirty minutes from Hobart) and reporting to and working closely with the Owner/Winemaker, the Winegrower/Estate Manager will be responsible for all aspects of the vineyard’s management with accountability for the implementation of all vineyard and farm activities.

Stargazer Wines is an acclaimed label with a 5ha vineyard site in the Tea Tree subregion of the Coal River Valley and was established by owner and winemaker Samantha Connew in 2012. Since acquiring the vineyard in 2016, the existing 1ha of Pinot Noir and Riesling has been augmented by an additional 4ha of vines, all destined for wines in the highly regarded Stargazer portfolio. The vineyard was awarded ‘Vineyard of the Year’ in 2019 by the Royal Agricultural Society of Tasmanian and also recently claimed the Wine Tasmania title of Vino Program Champion, which recognises best-practice vineyard management. In addition, Stargazer is a finalist in the 2024 Young Guns of Wine ’Vineyard of the Year’ program.

Job Requirements

Duties:

• Responsible for ensuring that all vineyard tasks are completed within the required timeframe to ensure quality and quantity standards are met.
• Maintenance of all machinery and equipment to a high standard; includes all servicing and record keeping.
• Pest and disease management; implements spray and monitoring programs and maintains all necessary records.
• Irrigation management: ensures irrigation is appropriately timed to ensure vine health and fruit quality is attained; maintains all necessary records.
• Responsible for ensuring the ongoing health of a small number of farm animals (sheep, chickens and bees), as well as a small olive grove and fruit orchard.
• Implements and reports on any quality/environmental/social programs e.g. Vino, to ensure best practice and continuous improvement.
• Takes a key role in the development and implementation of Stargazer’s quality management systems and OHS & W policies.
• Develops and reviews standard operating procedures (SOPs)/work instructions and ensures compliance.
• Attends any industry technical forums/workshops where relevant on behalf of Stargazer.
• Assists in the planning, budgeting and execution of expansion and development plans for a proposed additional 5ha vineyard site.

Skills & Experience

Stargazer is committed to leaving our little patch of dirt better than we found it, so crucial to the success of this role is an enthusiasm for sustainable viticulture, particularly soil health. The ideal candidate will have a focus on attention to detail, people management qualities, highly developed organisational and communication skills and a commitment to producing fruit and wine of extraordinary quality.

For your application to be considered, you must have:

• Experience in grape growing with a genuine enthusiasm for wine, viticulture and continuous improvement in both of these fields.
• A tertiary qualification in viticulture (or a closely related field) is preferred.
• Leadership skills with the ability to motivate, mentor and guide a small, but dedicated team to achieve the high-quality outcomes expected.
• Effective communication skills are imperative to success in this role; the ability to communicate well and foster strong relationships, both internal and external, will be highly regarded.
• A strong commitment to occupational work health and safety procedures.
• Must have tractor operations experience and a chemical accreditation.
• Mechanical ability and understanding are highly desired traits for this role, as is a strong problem-solving attitude.
• The ability to be self-sufficient and work well autonomously.
• Flexibility, and the ability to work overtime subject to seasonal requirements.
• Physically able to undertake manual labour tasks.
• Valid driver’s and forklift licenses.

Applicants must have Australian citizenship/residency or a valid existing Australian work visa.

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