Viticulturist
Viticulturist
A viticulturist studies and applies growing processes of grape vines to produce the amount and quality of grapes necessary for wine production. They must have an understanding of optimum ripeness and proper harvesting of grapes. They also design and implement pest and disease control programs following pest management practices and a sustainable farming approach.
What Responsibilities Will I Have?:
- Produce grapes under a wide variety of natural conditions
- Manage both table and wine grapes
- Understand optimum ripeness and proper harvesting of grapes
- Design and implement pest and disease control programs
- Use plant, climate and soil moisture monitoring equipment for scheduling irrigation
- Diagnose and solve viticulture problems
- Collect, organize and report viticulture data to support farming and marketing decisions
- Direct and supervise staff
- Provide feedback and guidance to wine farmers/vineyard managers to yield the best results
- Maintain direct contact with the winemaker to communicate grape characteristics needed to begin the winemaking process
Recommended High School Courses:
The following high school courses are recommended: agricultural education, biology, chemistry, physics and mathematics.
Education/Training Required:
A bachelor’s degree in viticulture, oenology or horticulture is required. A master’s degree in viticulture, oenology or horticulture is also often a requirement.
Future Job Market Outlook:
Typical Employers:
Typical employers are wine farms or estates, wine production companies, government agencies and colleges and universities. There are also self-employment opportunities.
Suggested Professional Organizations and Associations:
- American Society for Enology and Viticulture
- Winegrape Growers of America
Average Annual Full-Time Salary:
$61,457
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Salary data is provided by the AgCareers.com Compensation Benchmark Review™.
These salaries should be considered as examples and are provided for educational and exploratory purposes.
The salary information provided should not be used as a benchmark. Actual salaries are influenced by numerous
variables including but not limited to demographics, size and scope of the role, level of experience,
qualifications, and education of the worker.
