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About Viticulture
You'll become
- Food Scientist
- Oneologist
- Winemaker
- Viticulture Farm Manager
- Vinyard Supervisor
- Vineyard Hand
Average Salaries
Viticulture workers may earn between $56,000 and $86,000 per year
Turn your love of wine into an exciting and hands-on career by studying a viticulture course.
Pursue a career in the exciting and creative winemaking business by building essential skills and knowledge in a viticulture course.
A small but exciting field in Australia, viticulturalists have the privilege of working with some of the world’s best grapes and leading industry professionals. By studying a viticulture course, you’ll have the opportunity to enter an exciting new field and build a creative and stimulating career.
Viticulture course graduates work in the exciting world of wine production, understanding the science and art of winemaking, studying the chemical and physical properties of wine substances, and developing and following processes for wine production, testing and improvement.
After completing a viticulture course, you may choose to seek employment in a range of areas within the winemaking industry, including working with the cultivation and development of vines, processing and evaluating wine, or marketing, packaging and distributing wine products.
You may choose to apply the skills and knowledge you learn in a viticulture course to a small vocational plot or enterprise, or seek employment in the viticulture sector after completing your course, working as a farm manager, winemaker or viticulture supervisor. You may study a viticulture course as a certificate or diploma course, or as a bachelor’s degree or graduate certificate or diploma.
If you’re passionate about the natural world, curious about the way it works and interested in the way we feed and nourish ourselves, studying a viticulture course is your next career step.
What do viticulture graduates do?
After completing a viticulture course, you’ll likely work as a viticultural manager, performing tasks such as:
- Developing, designing and implementing grape production and management plans;
- Identifying, diagnosing and observing plant health problems;
- Monitoring, managing and treating soils for production;
- Managing the use and application of chemicals and fertilisers;
- Planning, designing and implementing weed management strategies;
- Designing and implementing sustainable land use strategies;
- Conducting experiments and tests to identify soil and material quality and composition;
- Testing techniques and applications;
- Developing quality control procedures and safety standards for wine and grape product production;
- Coordinating winemaking processes, testing and crushing grapes, fermenting juices and fortifying, clarifying, maturing and finishing wines;
- Blending wines according to formulae and knowledge of winemaking techniques;
- Managing staff and directing work;
- Advising on preserving, processing, packaging, storing and delivering foods;
- Directing, designing, planning and implementing the marketing, transport, sale and promotion of wine products; and
- Representing your business with members of the public.
Career Outcomes
Career Outcomes
After completing a viticulture course, you’ll likely work in the viticulture industry, managing the cultivation, making and selling of wine and other grape products. You may choose to work for a private vineyard, farm or enterprise, or pursue winemaking as a hobby or vocation.
After completing your course, you’ll be qualified to work as a:
- Food Scientist
- Oneologist
- Winemaker
- Viticulture Farm Manager
- Vinyard Supervisor
- Vineyard Hand
Is viticulture right for you?
You’ll enjoy studying viticulture if you:
- Enjoy practical work
- Are curious
- Are patient
- Enjoy problem-solving
- Are organised and efficient
- Care about the environment
- Work well with details
- Enjoy planning
- Enjoy repetitive work
- Want a meaningful and rewarding career
- Are interested in wine and grape products
Job opportunities
The Australian Government’s Job Outlook identifies the viticulture profession as a small and relatively stable industry in Australia. Currently employing approximately 7,800 people, it is likely to contract slightly to employ approximately 7,500 people by 2020.
Job Outlook notes that while the majority of jobs in this industry are available in New South Wales and Victoria, a higher proportion of jobs in this industry are available than the national average in South Australia and Western Australia. Approximately 15.3 per cent of jobs in the viticulture industry are available in Western Australia, compared to 11.2 per cent of jobs nationally, and approximately 9.7 per cent of viticulture jobs are available in South Australia, compared to 6.8 per cent of the job market usually concentrated in the state.
Average Salaries
According to PayScale, a winemaker can expect to earn on average between $56,000 per year and $86,000 per year, with an average annual salary of approximately $70,000. PayScale observes a positive relationship between earning capacity and experience, with a winemaker’s average annual salary increasing over their career.
PayScale notes that approximately 60 per cent of winemakers have less than 10 years of professional experience, indicating that people don’t stay in the profession for the duration of their career.