Hattingley Valley Wines on the Hunt for the Next Apprentice

Hattingley Valley Wines on the Hunt for the Next Apprentice

The UK’s first Winemaking Apprentice has successfully completed her two-year apprenticeship at Hattingley Valley Wines and is now a full-time member of the winemaking team. The vineyard is excited to announce a second opportunity to join this dynamic industry in partnership with the Vintners’ Company, Enotria & Coe, and the Wine & Spirit Education Trust.

England’s wine industry has exploded over the last few years with no sign of abating. An inevitable outcome of this is a shortage of skilled workers in the vineyards and wineries. There is of course a seasonal nature to the work but more and more full-time positions are required.

In order to encourage young people to get involved in this exciting and dynamic industry, Hattingley Valley has teamed up with the Vintners’ Company for a second time to offer a winemaking apprenticeship.

The successful applicant will be attend courses in vine-growing and winemaking at Plumpton College, England’s centre of learning for wine production, and to the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) to gain a wider appreciation for the world of wine. The vineyard's UK agent, Enotria&Coe, will fund WSET up to Level 2 with the WSET itself sponsoring Level 3.

In addition, the successful candidate will be trained on the job by working alongside our award-winning winemaking team.

This will include operation of all the key machinery used in a sparkling wine winery: presses, riddling equipment, disgorging kit, labelling machines, pumps, filters and heat exchangers. Forklift training will be provided. A crucial part of the training will be tasting and blending the young wines with the winemakers to make both their award-winning wines and those of their client vineyards.

Find out more.