Delicato Family Vineyards (DFV Wines) has an immediate career opportunity for a Senior Grower Relations Manager in our Napa/Manteca office.

DFV Wines is a family-owned winery with over 88 years of experience in California winemaking and winegrowing. DFV Wines is one of the fastest growing wine companies in the industry with wineries and vineyard interests in the Monterey, Lodi, Sonoma and Napa Valley. Well known for its steadfast commitment to crafting wines of the highest quality produced, the DFV Wines’ portfolio consists of Gnarly Head, Bota Box, 337, 181, Black Stallion Estate Winery, Brazin, Loredona, Irony, Massimo, and Twisted.

The Senior Grower Relations Manager hires, trains and manages the activities and staff responsible for the Company’s grape sourcing operations with independent growers. This position is responsible for the Company’s grape market intelligence system, commercial relations with parties throughout the grape growing channel, wine grape quality improvement programs, harvest logistics, and purchased-grapes documention control management.

Understands, communicates, and shares Company vision throughout division/organization and provide cross-functional perspective, direction, and support
Provides leadership and personal support; coaches, guides, nurtures and develops the right people; “walk the talk”
Drives Company focus, manages culture, encourages strong work ethic, and fosters an environment of trust and respect
Develops group and individual performance plans in alignment with Company goals and objectives; communicates clearly defined individual and group objectives; maintains level of productivity in unit
Designs, builds and implements Grower Relations functional systems that manage Grower Relations market intelligence, quality, costs, logistics, and document control
Trains employees to do their job; sets standards for work performance
Monitors performance and provides feedback to direct reports through formal and informal performance feedback; regularly communicates with staff to achieve mutual understanding and desired results
Recognizes and addresses performance strengths and limitations of subordinates
Manages employee attendance to ensure compliance with Company standards; approve/monitor overtime
Communicates and supports Company policies and decisions in a positive manner
Develops staffing needs, selects new employees, makes recommendations in job evaluation and compensation, recommends termination actions
Conducts team meetings with department employees; includes monthly safety topic
Handles employee issues, concerns, and complaints in an objective and confidential manner
Provides employees with a safe, comfortable, and rewarding work environment
Prepares and monitors department budget

Sources, negotiates, executes, and manages all grape contracts in all California grape districts
Works with Grower Relations Managers, winemaking and CRG to develop the grape purchase plan by providing relevant market, pricing, and supply conditions
Executes the strategy by developing a set of best practices necessary to acquire/sell grapes at the highest value
Develops and maintains relationships with growers actively through regular observation and frequent communication
Oversees winery-grower events that build grower relationships
Provides viticultural feedsback to growers through regular field assesments and working with growers on viticultural inputs throughout the year in order to deliver better quality grapes
Develops strategies to retain qualtiy growers
Manages and collects all relevant vineyard data, including all experiment data
Monitors crop development and provide timely crop estimate forecasts
Directs all regional harvest activities working closely with schedulers, winemakers, and samplers.; ensure that all grapes are harvested at optimum maturity based on juice chemistry, vine health, weather conditions, winery capacity and flavor ripeness

Equipment and Materials Utilized:
Type: Laptop, office phone, cell phone, P-Card, automobile. Must possess a valid CA driver’s license

Position Requirements:
Education: Bachelor of Science degree in Viticulture, Enology, Food Science, or Related Field Required; Master’s degree preferred.

Experience:
10 or more years of previous related experience as a Grape Sourcer; 7 or more years directly managing others. Excellent management and communication skills. Must be detail and multi-task oriented. Proficient in the use of MS Office based environment, (Word, Outlook, Excel and other software applications).

Knowledge:
Comprehensive understanding of all processes related to grape procurement and grape growing with a solid understanding of winemaking. Winery knowledge is a must. This position requires work during normal business hours, Monday through Friday. However, during certain times of the year (harvest) some weekend or evening hours will be required.

Delicato offers competitive pay and a comprehensive benefits package includes medical, dental, vision & life insurance, 401k w/company match, Paid Time Off (PTO), paid holidays & many more.

jobs@delicato.com