{"id":5052,"date":"2020-06-23T13:40:11","date_gmt":"2020-06-23T16:40:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/domainebousquet.com\/?p=5052"},"modified":"2020-06-23T13:40:11","modified_gmt":"2020-06-23T16:40:11","slug":"how-anyone-can-be-a-vineyard-manager","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/domainebousquet.com\/en\/how-anyone-can-be-a-vineyard-manager\/","title":{"rendered":"How Anyone Can Be a Vineyard Manager"},"content":{"rendered":"
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BY\u00a0KELLY A. MAGYARICS<\/a><\/div>\n
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\"Miguel<\/p>\n
Miguel Ortiz checking grapes at Ponzi Vineyards \/ Photo courtesy Ponzi<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Vineyard manager, agronomist, viticulturist. All refer to someone who\u2019s job is to make sure that\u00a0grapes<\/a>\u00a0on the vine are tended to and allowed to flourish into their best selves. The role is like a project manager of sorts, where the fruit is shepherded from bud break to harvest to reinforce the philosophy that \u201cgreat wine starts in the vineyard.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are surrounded by wonderful landscapes, in the open air, with no pollution and in permanent \u2018dialogue\u2019 with nature,\u201d says Manuel Iribarnegaray L\u00f3pez, technical director at\u00a0Marqu\u00e9s de C\u00e1ceres<\/a> Group in Spain. He studied agriculture and spent six years as an agronomic engineer in Madrid, with a focus on crop management.<\/p>\n

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Today, he oversees roughly 1,500 acres in\u00a0Rueda<\/a>,\u00a0Ribera del Duero<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Rioja<\/a>, and works with experimental grape varieties.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe grape and the wine are totally linked,\u201d says Iribarnegaray L\u00f3pez. \u201cWhat you do in the vineyard today is what you are going to delight in the wine in five, seven or 10 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re passionate about grafting,\u00a0pruning techniques<\/a>, soil pH, canopy management and other factors that ensure grapes reach their full potential, here\u2019s how to pursue a career amid the vines.<\/p>\n

\"Manuel<\/a>
Manuel Iribarnegaray L\u00f3pez, technical director, Marqu\u00e9s de C\u00e1ceres Group \/ Photo courtesy Marqu\u00e9s de C\u00e1ceres Group<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Start with education.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

An agricultural degree worked for Iribarnegaray L\u00f3pez when he segued into viticulture. It augmented necessary technical skills like how to use crop management software, geo-localization and\u00a0vigor index<\/a>\u00a0analysis by satellite.<\/p>\n

Stirling Fox, owner of\u00a0Stirling Wine Grapes, Inc.<\/a>, which is contracted to help manage the vineyards at\u00a0Abbey Road Farm<\/a>\u00a0in Oregon\u2019s\u00a0Willamette Valley<\/a>, recommends a two- or four-year viticulture degree. Fox has been a professional vineyard manager for more than 25 years. Working part time at restaurants during college piqued his interest in wine. He changed his educational focus from science toward viticulture.<\/p>\n

\"Stirling<\/a>
Stirling Fox, owner of Stirling Wine Grapes, Inc. \/ Photo courtesy Stirling Wine Grapes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Work in the vineyards, learn from others and be humble.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cYou must develop the ability to understand what the vine is asking you [and] what it needs,\u201d says Michele Pezzicoli, vineyard manager at\u00a0Tenuta di Arceno<\/a>\u00a0in Tuscany, Italy. \u201cYou need to understand the characteristics of the soil and how [they] transmit to the plant and, ultimately, the wine: its character, structure,\u00a0minerality<\/a>, complexity and all that is required to make a great wine.\u201d<\/p>\n

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There\u2019s a touch of mysticism involved in raising grapes destined for a bottle rather than a fruit bowl. Wines remain living organisms that continue to evolve in fascinating ways after grapes have been pressed and their juice is corked. Books and degrees are helpful, but it\u2019s no replacement for time spent among the vines.<\/p>\n

\"Franco<\/a>
Franco Bastias, agronomist, Domaine Bousquet \/ Photo courtesy Domaine Bousquet<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cYou must be in the fields with the vine workers and the plants, and get dirty,\u201d says Franco Bastias, agronomist at\u00a0Domaine Bousquet<\/a>\u00a0in Mendoza, Argentina.<\/p>\n

The ability to listen and learn from others is an integral part of being a successful vineyard manager. Bastias\u2019s parents spent their lives in the fields. He would accompany them on field trips to a\u00a0Uco Valley<\/a>\u00a0winery where a vineyard manager taught them techniques on how to prune and fertilize.<\/p>\n

\u201cListen to the people who work with you, who many times lack formal education, but having grown up and spent most of their time working in a vineyard have a lifetime\u2019s worth of advice and techniques to offer,\u201d he says. Know what you don\u2019t know, and be open to let others with more experience show you.<\/p>\n

\"Miguel<\/a>
Miguel Ortiz, vineyard manager, Ponzi Vineyards \/ Photo courtesy Ponzi<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Use your management experience.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Vineyard managers work with multiple crews and juggle a mountain of hectic tasks, particularly during growing and picking seasons. Draw on any experience in your background where you had to manage others, and tap into existing skills in delegation, motivation, teamwork and training.<\/p>\n

\u201cI teach and provide the proper tools to the vineyard crew so they can perform their jobs to the best of their ability,\u201d says Miguel Ortiz, vineyard manager for nearly 25 years at Oregon\u2019s\u00a0Ponzi Vineyards<\/a>. Born in Southwest\u00a0Mexico<\/a>, he emigrated to Oregon as a young adult and began as a standard employee before working his way up the ranks to foreman and manager. He continues to educate his 15-person crew about the importance of thoughtful farming.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWork hard, be honest and always be open to learning,\u201d says Ortiz.<\/p>\n

Iribarnegaray L\u00f3pez points out that the job doesn\u2019t stop at the estate\u2019s boundaries.<\/p>\n

\u201cNowadays, a vineyard manager is not only in charge of the vineyards that belong to the winery,\u201d he says. \u201c[They\u2019re] also in continuous contact with all the winegrowers that have relations with the company.\u201d This means visiting and monitoring outside vineyards as well. Iribarnegaray L\u00f3pez stresses that communication and organizational development is key.<\/p>\n

\"Maya<\/a>
Maya Hood White, associate winemaker\/viticulturist, Early Mountain Vineyards \/ Photo courtesy Early Mountain<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Get a job in the cellar.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

California-born Maya Hood White, associate winemaker\/viticulturist and former vineyard manager at\u00a0Early Mountain Vineyards<\/a>\u00a0in Madison, Virginia, first studied mathematics and engineering. Her curiosity led to stints in wine cellars to gain experience, though she doubted her competence in the vineyard.<\/p>\n

\u201cI struggled growing basil plants in my house,\u201d says Hood White. \u201cHow could I even consider vines?\u201d<\/p>\n

At the University of California, Davis she earned a master\u2019s degree in viticulture and enology. During that time, her interest grew as her responsibilities expanded to vineyard work and management. Hood White recommends a combination of study and experience in both aspects of the industry, rather than feeling the need to pigeonhole oneself into either grape-growing or winemaking.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt times, I felt the need to pick between a role in the cellar or vineyard,\u201d she says. At Early Mountain, the lines between grape growing and winemaking are highly blurred. Today, Hood White splits her time between tasks like scouting vineyards for\u00a0pests<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0diseases<\/a>, and balancing aromatics with barrel influence in the winery\u2019s single-vineyard Tannat.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wish I knew how natural and seamless operating in two different spaces could be,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\"Michele<\/a>
Michele Pezzicoli, vineyard manager, Tenuta di Arceno \/ Photo courtesy Tenuta di Arceno<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Relish your role in the winemaking process.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Though Mother Nature gets a lot of the credit when a vintage turns out perfectly, so should the vineyard team.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is something incredibly special and gratifying to follow and support vines through a portion of their life,\u201d says Hood White.<\/p>\n

Fox agrees, citing it as the coolest part of his job. \u201cDelivering beautiful, consistently ripe fruit for winemakers who appreciate our attention to detail and quality is a proud moment every time, every year,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s what our work is all about.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BY\u00a0KELLY A. MAGYARICS Miguel Ortiz checking grapes at Ponzi Vineyards \/ Photo courtesy Ponzi Vineyard manager, agronomist, viticulturist. All refer to someone who\u2019s job is to make sure that\u00a0grapes\u00a0on the vine are tended to and allowed to flourish into their best selves. The role is like a project manager of sorts, where the fruit is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5053,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5052","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/domainebousquet.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5052","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/domainebousquet.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/domainebousquet.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/domainebousquet.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/domainebousquet.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5052"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/domainebousquet.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5052\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/domainebousquet.com\/en\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/domainebousquet.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/domainebousquet.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/domainebousquet.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}