I was told
that there’re some jobs in Australia that pay well and working in winery is definitely
one of them. I had no experience as a cellar hand and didn’t know much about
the job. However, the hostel owner in Griffith encouraged most backpackers to give
it a try (so that we have money to pay for him). Well, I did apply the jobs
online and also went through with an agency. The interview with the agent ended
up unsuccessfully. Before long, I was called up by a winery company which I
applied directly via online. I was asked to come in person to sit for a simple
test and interview. Fortunately, I was accepted soon on the same day. Weeks
later, some of my friends told me that they also got the jobs.
Working in
winery as a vintage cellar hand is a brand new experience for me. I mean me as
a backpacker coming to Australia and previously New Zealand, experienced quite
a few jobs involved in agriculture, like picking and packing fruits and vegetables.
Working in winery is really my first experience and pretty tough time for me.
It involved some knowledge and skills and I believed that’s the reason we had
some training sessions before we officially worked in the winery.
Every cellar
hand has own task and may different from others. As for me, I used to climb up
to almost 12 meter height on top of the wine tank to measure wine levels, take some samples,
transfer wines from tank to tank/truck or vice versa, carry weighty rubber
hoses, chill wines, assemble equipment and so on (more like men’s work). I
was arranged to work at night shift from 10 at night to 6 in the morning. It’s
pretty odd that I had my break time sometimes on 3am.
 |
| I used to work on top of the tanks |
 |
| Stainless steel wine tanks |
 |
| Wines tanks located in different farms |
 |
| A four-storey-height staircase |
 |
| A truck was parking in front of tanks to load/unload wines |
 |
| Unloading wine from a truck to tank |
 |
| Undergoing wine chilling process |
 |
| All equipment were gathered and assembled before undergo the task |
 |
| I used to carry this huge spanner at work |
Wage was good, staffs were nice and the experience was cool. However, I had enough and I guess that is my first and also last experience working in winery ‘o’
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteDear Juiny. Thanks for sharing you experience in Australia. I came to Australia for WHV as well and very interested in this job. May I ask how can we secure a position as a cellar hand?
ReplyDeleteHi Kui Pang, you may browse some of the wine companies in Australia such as Casella & De Bortoli and apply a job from their website. They will call for an interview accordingly. Alternatively, you may try your luck through agent. Basically, you have to pass a test & interview before you got the position as a cellar hand. Hope my info helps. Thanks.
ReplyDeletethats rosemount winery isnt it? i just started working there this week.
ReplyDeletehave you found more work since?
It's in Yenda.
DeleteHi, I'm currently working the vintage in New Zealand for 6 weeks long hours and nights. I actually love the challenge and the fact that you can travel the world after experience. I am looking into the barrosa valley, Adelaide hills or even Margaret river in Australia and wondered if you had any tips at all or whether you or your friends worked in a similar region. I also don't currently drive so am hoping this isn't a burden.
ReplyDeleteHi Mathew, sorry for not being able to provide you any info of winery in Adelaide this time.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the average salary of cellar hand ..and plant manager. ?
ReplyDeleteSalary for cellar hand would be around $100-200 depends on shift.
DeleteThank you for sharing! This article is informative and very helpful. Good job!
ReplyDeleteTax Services