TASTING PANEL FEATURE: Fresh Voices by Justin Trabue
LIVING THE DREAM: Traveling Winemakers
Take The Great Harvest Hop
By Justin Trabue
What started in 2007 as a Facebook group named Travelling Winemakers has since connected over 43,000 members around the world. It’s one of many outlets that help get wine professionals abroad, from California intern boards to other Facebook pages like WineVoyage.org: Wine Jobs and Resources for Travelling Winemakers that allow users to rate their harvest experience.
Follow along with me as I introduce you to friends I have made along my harvest journey!
In 2019, I found myself in New Zealand after locating a harvest opportunity at a winery called Pask through the Travelling Winemakers Facebook page. After landing in Wellington, I had only 48 hours to find a car and drive to Hawke’s Bay before starting my first day of work (naturally, I somehow made time for a brief detour to the location that doubled as the Elvin kingdom of Rivendell in the Lord of the Rings films).
It was here I met my friends Stefanie Galicia Hernandez and Roman Balandran Felix, both born in Mexico. Stefanie grew up in Mexico City, then moved to Aguascalientes, where she eventually met Roman. I asked them what type of presence wine had in their Mexican families; both mentioned sparkling toasts on special occasions such as quinceañeras and weddings, but neither was well acquainted with the winemaking process until they pursued their own studies. In 2013, while a master’s candidate in viticulture and enology, Stefanie completed her first of six harvests at a small winery in Burgundy called Domaine Carrette. It wasn’t until her third that Roman, now her husband, experienced harvest for the first time when both of them worked in Napa. Stefanie said that they have never had trouble applying for harvests together, typically working at different wineries in the same region. They’re now settled in Okanagan Valley, Canada, where Stefanie works as a lab assistant and assists producers with winery upkeep, logistics, and more.
I asked my co-worker and friend Hope Pinelli what she wished someone had told her before her first harvest. She laughed and suggested the importance of bringing a lot of extra socks, stretchy pants, sunscreen, and a hat, as well as of eating as much as possible to curb exhaustion during long and grueling shifts. Raised in Portland, Oregon, Hope is a Chinese-American winemaker who has completed nine harvests in the U.S., New Zealand, and Australia. Having the opportunity to do multiple tasks throughout the day and see all steps of the process is important to her. There are well-established safety protocols, pay structures, advanced technology, and greater opportunity for extended employment at larger facilities, but smaller facilities—which she prefers—allow for one-on-one guidance.
Speaking of effective safety protocols, my friend Marreya Bailey, a Black winemaker raised in Minnesota, transitioned into the world of wine in 2015 when she moved from hospitality to production. She has completed vintages in Vermont at a woman-owned wine and cider facility as well as in California at both a co-op winemaking facility in Sebastopol and a custom-crush facility in Santa Rosa; she also hopes to do a vintage in Japan soon. Marreya, as well as everyone else, agreed that day shifts are more forgiving physically, as night shifts require the adjustment of sleep schedules and tend to result in more injuries and fatigue-related incidents. We also agreed that safety training regarding confined spaces, chemical use, and proper communication can truly save a life.
People often wonder what kind of perks come with working a harvest. There can’t be a harvest without banging beats, or at least that’s what my friend Imane Hanine thinks. This first-generation New Yorker of Moroccan and Dominican descent says you can always find her singing and dancing somewhere: She is the designated DJ. In addition to great tunes, the food provided by producers on long, physically taxing days—from snacks from a fully stocked fridge to a breakfast burrito—can make a huge difference in terms of both performance and morale. Sharing wines from various producers during lunch is also a great way to bond while training your palate. Marreya mentioned that she loved seeing her co-workers at the end-of-season party: “It was fun to see each other dressed up and not covered in grapes.”
In Imane’s words, “The greatest challenge yet to be solved is securing a decent salary.” Applying for harvest abroad for the first time, she must ensure her pay covers not only her transportation costs but also food and bills back home—not to mention housing if it isn’t being provided by the winery. Imane and Stefanie also agreed that acquiring visas when working in regions that require them can be difficult, as the application process can stretch on for weeks or even months.
I asked everyone if they had ever been treated unfairly in a winery based on their identity. Responses varied from “Show up like a boss anyway” and “Earn your respect” to confessions about the difficulty in finding welcoming environments among colleagues, even of the same gender and race, due to competition for job opportunities. The answer I received the most involved a hierarchy based on harvest experience, which as Imane explains “fosters a culture of posturing, bravado, and competition.”
The Travelling Winemakers page puts it best: Harvest is for those “who are willing to think out of the box and head overseas to make some good wine and sample the fruits of the foreign soils.” There are amazing programs around the world connecting BIPOC traveling winemakers with funding, mentorship, and networking opportunities. If you are looking for ways to travel for wine, check out @naturalactionwc, @battonage_forum, @hispanicsinwine, @theveraisonproject, @rootsfund, @asianwineprofessionals, @blackwineprofessionals, and, of course, @dreambigdarling_org on Instagram.
Fresh Voices is a collaborative effort between The Tasting Panel, The SOMM Journal, and 501(c)(3) organization Dream Big Darling. The con- cept centers around providing opportunities to and amplifying the voices of the next generation of women in the wine and spirits industry. To learn more about Dream Big Darling, visit dreambigdarling.org.
From dig outs to punchdowns, pruning, and picking, there is much fun to be had as a trav- eling winemaker. From top to bottom: Hope Pinelli (she/her), Imane Hanine (she/her), and Ro- man Balandran Felix (he/him).
From left to right, top to bottom: Traveling winemakers Marreya Bailey (she/her), Stefanie Galicia Hernandez (she/her), Bailey, Pinelli, Hanine, and Balandran Felix.