Want to be a Winemaker?

If living on a beautiful vineyard with your family and sipping wine you made sounds like heaven, let's have a look to see what it takes to reach that goal. First of all, education. If you didn't grow up on a vineyard, then going to school is in the cards for you. Enology is the science and study of wine and winemaking, while viticulture is the science of the growing, cultivation, and harvesting of grapes. These majors include plant science, food science and microbiology,  economics and business, foreign language and internships. Speaking of internships, this will be a big part of your journey. Winemaking is both a science and an art, and the art part happens mainly person to person. Working a harvest season at a winery will really give you a sense of what it takes, and whether it's really a match. Driving a forklift, working 10 hour days, cleaning tanks and barrels for much of it, getting excited or sometimes challenged by the condition of the fruit, and going with the flow that nature and weather provide are some of the highlights. Depending on the size of the winery, all of these jobs could be one or two people, or a very large, specialized staff. No two days are the same and making somethings that brings pleasure to you and others is priceless, but making a decent income is challenging. The sales and marketing side is it's own mountain to climb, but winemakers are dreamers and if this is your dream, you've got to go for it! Cheers!