# Looking for Vineyard/Winery Harvest Intern opportunity in Rioja



## Jessica Brandon (Dec 13, 2020)

Greetings from Oregon, USA. I'm not an ex-patriot...yet! Maybe one day in the future. I'm fascinated with Spain...visited Seville for a week in 2018 and it was not enough! Now it's 2021, in the middle of a pandemic, but I still plan to return to Spain when I can, this time to the Rioja region in the north, not to simply visit and drink wine, which is lovely, but rather to maybe assist in some capacity in a vineyard/winery through the harvest season (I do have education and work experience in the wine industry). I've read some about work visas and need to do more homework, but a thought I had was that maybe there's the possibility of work trade, such as a place to stay for exchange of labor. This may not be permissible either...more homework! 

So... my question is: Would anyone have suggestions of family vineyard/wineries in the Rioja region that I might reach out to, to make some inquiries? There are a bazillion online (not really, but it seems that way), and my search feels sort of like trying to find a needle in a haystack!

Thank you much! Jessica


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## kaipa (Aug 3, 2013)

I imagine most casual work is carried out by low paid immigrant workers ( most likely illegal) and is seasonal. I doubt they would require anyone as a trainee as many of these bodegas are small family businesses. Mostly certainly you would require Spanish. Best is to just phone and ask


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## nb888 (Jan 15, 2021)

Apologies for my first post being some links to other sites, it's not what it seems, really! I am genuinely an (aspiring) expat.
Back in my youth I did various bits of voluntary work in Europe and further afield, mostly environmentally or building focused but also some of it was around assisting small producers of fruit / veg and wine making. The process was arranged through the relevant NGO's in each country and for myself (I am in the UK) I used UNA exchange and a group called IVS which has branches in a lot of other countries including I think in the US.
I also spoke to a lot of people that had used WWOOF although I have not used it myself it is quite well known in the relevant circles, together with another site called workaway.info which has a fee based model and puts "volunteers" in contact with farms / fincas etc in various countries throughout the world including Spain.
As a concept the "work for food and accommodation" still exists although more as a niche offering rather than a standard approach, although covid has probably put paid to a lot of the activity last year and probably this. I would echo the point that commercial wine grape growers no matter how small will be unlikely to rely on volunteers who may or may not materialise to pick a very time sensitive crop and these are more likely to have networks with organisations in countries where the wage and standard of living is a lot lower, in order to supply their labour needs when they need them


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## ccm47 (Oct 15, 2013)

I now live in France most of the time and have the edge of the Bordeaux vineyards literally 200 metres away from my house. Obviously this leads to numerous conversations and tastings of wines and their harvesting but I by no means class myself as an expert. 
However I do know that there are very, very few vineyards that pick by hand these days: that is reserved for the best of the best. Everything is now done by specially designed machinery. They no longer pick during the heat of the day, but start at first light and by 07.30 everything for the day is en route to the cave. If exceptionally we drive pass a field with pickers in it after 08.00 it will be either primary kids on a school outing or those of retirement age reliving their youth and waiting for an alcoholic group lunch! The grapes they pick being incidental to the tradition.
Since Spanish wines sell for a lot less than French it follows that they must be using the same type of machinery to harvest with as well as paying their workers less.

What vineyards do need extra workers for is inspecting and thinning out the bunches. I know kids here whose summer jobs in July are doing just that but none of them live on site, most just hop on a scooter to get to the right field. Would this work suit you? I'm sorry I can't help with any Riojan suggestions.


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## Jessica Brandon (Dec 13, 2020)

nb888 said:


> Apologies for my first post being some links to other sites, it's not what it seems, really! I am genuinely an (aspiring) expat.
> Back in my youth I did various bits of voluntary work in Europe and further afield, mostly environmentally or building focused but also some of it was around assisting small producers of fruit / veg and wine making. The process was arranged through the relevant NGO's in each country and for myself (I am in the UK) I used UNA exchange and a group called IVS which has branches in a lot of other countries including I think in the US.
> I also spoke to a lot of people that had used WWOOF although I have not used it myself it is quite well known in the relevant circles, together with another site called workaway.info which has a fee based model and puts "volunteers" in contact with farms / fincas etc in various countries throughout the world including Spain.
> As a concept the "work for food and accommodation" still exists although more as a niche offering rather than a standard approach, although covid has probably put paid to a lot of the activity last year and probably this. I would echo the point that commercial wine grape growers no matter how small will be unlikely to rely on volunteers who may or may not materialise to pick a very time sensitive crop and these are more likely to have networks with organisations in countries where the wage and standard of living is a lot lower, in order to supply their labour needs when they need them


Thank you! I appreciate your input immensely. I have the ability to rent an apartment and spend a few months just living in Spain, but I'm not the kind of person that can just sit...I need to be busy. I went to school and completed the programs for vineyard management and commercial wine production, and while I do know people here in Oregon who know of vineyards over the pond that I could be introduced to, it seems that no one knows anything about Spain, hence that is why my question here on this Expat Forum site. I'm not one to give up easily, so I will utilize the info you gave and continue my search for my big adventure!  Thanks again!


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## Jessica Brandon (Dec 13, 2020)

ccm47 said:


> I now live in France most of the time and have the edge of the Bordeaux vineyards literally 200 metres away from my house. Obviously this leads to numerous conversations and tastings of wines and their harvesting but I by no means class myself as an expert.
> However I do know that there are very, very few vineyards that pick by hand these days: that is reserved for the best of the best. Everything is now done by specially designed machinery. They no longer pick during the heat of the day, but start at first light and by 07.30 everything for the day is en route to the cave. If exceptionally we drive pass a field with pickers in it after 08.00 it will be either primary kids on a school outing or those of retirement age reliving their youth and waiting for an alcoholic group lunch! The grapes they pick being incidental to the tradition.
> Since Spanish wines sell for a lot less than French it follows that they must be using the same type of machinery to harvest with as well as paying their workers less.
> 
> What vineyards do need extra workers for is inspecting and thinning out the bunches. I know kids here whose summer jobs in July are doing just that but none of them live on site, most just hop on a scooter to get to the right field. Would this work suit you? I'm sorry I can't help with any Riojan suggestions.


Your wisdom from France is very helpful, so thank you!  I should say, I've gone to school and completed programs for vineyard management and wine production so I understand how things work. I've driven grape harvesters and was at pickings conducted in the late evenings. There are also grape sorters available for purchase for those wineries that can afford them which eliminates the people needed on the sorting line. It's a pretty interesting piece of equipment though it does kill available work opportunities! I've worked as a harvest intern, babysat the 1,000 gallon stainless steel vats full of must as it fermented into wine and racked the wine into oak barrels. I've been to France several times and visited wineries and I know they do a spectacular job but my heart and soul want to go to Spain, and it seems that about everyone I know in the industry here, knows little about Spain's wine industry so that was the reason that I posted my thoughts and question here on Expat Forum. Again, thank you, your info helps me to remember to put perspective on this adventure I've cooked up! Salud!


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