Wine Technician

About the role

The Wine Technician will work alongside and in support of the Winemaker and Sevenhill Cellars. The Wine Technician supports the planning, coordination and technical delivery of wine production at Sevenhill Cellars, working across grape assessment, vintage operations, fermentation, maturation, laboratory analysis, blending, finishing and preparation of wines for bottling.

Key responsibilities

• Assess grapes prior to and during vintage by collecting and examining samples to monitor ripeness, sugar levels, acidity and general fruit condition, and provide technical information to assist with determining harvest timing and suitability for processing.
• Support and coordinate winemaking operations throughout vintage, including grape receival, crushing and destemming, pressing, juice transfers, inoculations, fermentation management, pump-overs, rack-and-returns and other processing activities.
• Monitor alcoholic and malolactic fermentations, undertaking regular sampling, laboratory testing and sensory assessment to evaluate fermentation progress and identify where adjustments or winemaking interventions may be required.
• Conduct laboratory testing and analysis of grapes, juice and wine, including relevant measurements such as SO₂, pH, dissolved oxygen, dissolved carbon dioxide, turbidity and other analytical parameters used to assess wine condition and quality.
• Prepare, calculate and administer winemaking additions and treatments in accordance with winemaking instructions and analytical results, including additions associated with grape receival, fermentation, wine stabilisation and finishing.
• Undertake sensory evaluation of juice and wine samples throughout production and maturation, assessing characteristics such as flavour, aroma, colour, balance and overall wine quality and communicating findings to the winemaking team.
• Participate in blending, fining and treatment trials, preparing samples and evaluating alternative blends or treatments to assist the winemaking team in determining appropriate compositions and finishing approaches for individual wines.
• Assist with the maturation and finishing of wines, including racking, transfers, barrel filling and topping, filtration, clarification and other cellar processes required to maintain wine quality and prepare wines for final blending and bottling.
• Monitor wine quality throughout storage and maturation, using laboratory and sensory observations to identify variations or quality issues and assist with determining appropriate corrective or preventative winemaking actions.
• Maintain accurate technical and production records relating to grape receival, laboratory results, additions, fermentation progress, wine movements, treatments, blending and other winemaking activities to support traceability and quality control.

About you

• Formal training in Viticulture and Oenology.
• Hands-on experience across the winemaking process, including grape receival, crushing, pressing, fermentation management, racking, wine transfers, filtration, barrel work, blending trials and preparation for bottling.
• Wine laboratory and quality assessment experience, including testing and monitoring SO₂, pH, dissolved oxygen, dissolved CO₂ and turbidity, as well as sensory assessment of juice, ferments and finished wines.
• Experience coordinating winery and vintage operations, including supervising grape processing activities, organising cellar workflows and working with winemaking teams to meet production, blending and bottling requirements.

For more information please contact [email protected]