Winery Seeks Harvest Intern, Offers Memories

Describing the position as a rare chance to learn the craft from the ground up, a 4,000-case Willamette Valley winery posted a harvest internship Monday offering 70-hour weeks, no wages, and what the listing refers to four separate times as memories, sources reported.

Compensation is given as “the experience.” Housing is a 2004 Ford Econoline the winery already owned.

“When I did my harvest in Burgundy in 1997, I paid for the privilege. I slept on a floor. I lost eleven pounds and it was the best year of my life,” said proprietor Curtis Voelker, adding that the winery provides two meals a day through crush and had recently upgraded the van with a second sleeping bag. “Nobody is getting rich in this business. I’m certainly not, which is exactly why I can’t pay anyone. But you cannot put a number on standing in a cold cellar at four in the morning watching a fermentation come alive. I’ve tried to. My accountant has tried to.”

The listing requires a valid driver’s license, the ability to repeatedly lift 60 pounds, and a two-year commitment to the three-month position. Voelker said 41 people applied on the first day.

At press time, Voelker was writing a second listing for an unpaid assistant to manage the interns.