KEY POINTS:
Name: Emma Taylor.
Age: 30.
Role: Viticulturist, Villa Maria, Hawkes Bay.
Working hours: Over harvest 80 to 100 hours a week. Rest of year 50 to 60 hours a week with some weekend work. However, working part-time after taking parental leave.
Average salary: $80,000-$120,000.
Qualifications: MSc in physical geography at Otago University.
Describe what you do.
Villa Maria has more than 2000 hectares of grape land. Of these, 20 vineyards are owned by Villa Maria and the rest are managed by about 100 growers.
The viticulturist liaises between grower or vineyard manager and the winery. Our job is to understand what the winemaker needs and how vines grow and can be manipulated to meet those needs while recognising that the grower needs to run a financially viable business and, therefore, not all winemaker demands will be appropriate.
Depending on the season, the role involves visiting sites to look at pest and weed control, seeing if yields are up to expectation, checking canopies and vine structures are tidy and the grower is happy. We might also be assessing new sites for new grapes or assisting with budgets and data bases.
So your job varies according to the seasons?
Yes. During harvest - March and April - I'm in the field all day seeing the grapes and tasting them with winemaker and growers. Then I'd work until midnight on paperwork.
May and June is spent exclusively in the office doing harvest summaries and budgets, pruning assessments and so on. From July to February, I'd spend two to three days in the field (which could include Gisborne, Hawke's Bay, Marlborough, Canterbury and Central Otago) and two to three days in the office.
What qualifications are required?
My physical geography MSc gave me an understanding of climate, soil science and hydrology. Nowadays, though, you probably need a viticulture qualification.
Your history?
After completing my degree, I got a six-month contract as technical officer at Villa Maria and was then offered a 12-month cadetship.
This gave me an induction into all aspects of Villa Maria and viticulture, including visiting other regions, such as Marlborough, to observe vineyard differences. I also spent six months at the Auckland winery and time in the nursery learning how vines are grafted up. I also did two weeks in sales. This gave me a great understanding of where everything fits. I then became a research viticulturist.
In July 2003, my husband and I headed off overseas. In November, Villa Maria called asking if I wanted the national viticulturist role. I was keen but also wanted to continue travelling so we negotiated that I come back for the March 2004 harvest. I held that role until taking parental leave in March 2007.
And now?
I work 20 hours a week helping the head viticulturist. I'm doing site evaluations, budgeting and establishing new procedures, and can help out with problems on site when required.
I believe you were 2007 Young Viticulturist of the Year?
Yes, I saw it as a way of keeping in touch with the industry while on maternity leave.
What skills and qualities do you need?
The key is being logical and having common sense. You need to be quick thinking and able to cope with pressure. Just when you think you're got it all planned, something is likely to happen, frost, a cyclone, any number of things.
You need to be flexible and have confidence to follow through on your decisions even when others don't agree.
Actually, you also need good people skills because you have to liaise and work with people continuously. Finally you need a passion for wine growing because you can work really long hours, especially over harvest.
Best part of the job?
The variety of work. Most challenging part?
Staff management. I was managing 50 staff scattered around the country and nearly all of them were older than me.
What is the attraction of grapes?
I love growing grapes because they are a product determined by the land and the way they grow. Soil and methods impact greatly on the wine and grapes and wines differ depending on the region. Almost no matter what the winemaker does to the wine - if you are an avid enough drinker - you should be able to tell where the grapes were grown. There is always the big question about what variety to plant now that will be great in five years' time.
Advice to someone interested?
There is a shortage of viticulturists at top level but, at entry level, it is competitive because of all the viticulture qualifications on offer that weren't around when I left school. Qualifications aside, you need to be prepared to work from the bottom up. The best way to get experience is to get work at harvest time.
