A Labor Day Toast to Vineyard and Winery Workers in America and Around the World

This Labor Day, as many of us raise a glass of wine with friends and family, let us pause to honor the people whose labor makes every sip possible: the vineyard and winery workers. These men and women are the quiet backbone of the wine industry—working in sun, rain, frost, and heat, 24 hours a day (the grapes don’t keep a regular schedule) and often in the shadows, to bring grapes from vine to glass.

Wine Harvest Season is Happening Harvest season, known as les vendanges in France and la cosecha in Spain, is one of the most grueling yet beautiful times of year in the vineyard, and it’s happening right now. In Oregon, the weather is cooperating, a gentle harvest of cool mornings, warm afternoons, and clear skies.

In Oregon, where Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are loved supreme, the work is typically demanding. Grapes are often picked by hand at the perfect moment of ripeness, often before dawn, with workers bending row after row, filling baskets that weigh heavier by the end of the day, literally running with the grapes to keep them fresh. It is skilled work, requiring both strength and intuition. 

Without these workers, the delicate, terroir-driven wines of Oregon’s 22 AVA’s and 1,500 vineyards would not thrive as they are today. Profit margins are thin, and it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find workers in the new era of federal government tyranny against people who want to work hard for a living. 

Global Harvest Can Be Challenging In other parts of the world, such as the Mosel in Germany or Valle d'Aosta's are steep, hand-terraced vineyards, at extreme slopes, sometimes 70-degree angles. on slippery slate, requiring ropes and helicopters to manage the harvest, including Europe's highest vineyards at Morgex, that are vital to the region's "heroic viticulture".

Beyond harvest, vineyard crews tend the vines throughout the year—pruning in winter, tying in spring, leaf-thinning in summer. Each step shapes the character of the wine long before it reaches the cellar. In the winery, cellar teams take over, managing fermentations, moving barrels, cleaning endlessly, and carefully watching over the transformation from grape juice into wine. The artistry of winemaking is inseparable from this physical labor.

Honoring Winery Workers At Every MomentYet, too often, these workers go unrecognized. We celebrate the winemakers, but not always the hands that picked the fruit or the people who spent long nights in the cellar during crush. Grapes need to be sorted by hand - it’s fun and also tedious. Grape skins need to be punched down, poured over, and otherwise managed to extract the ideal amount of color and flavor. And then there’s the waiting and hoping for the best. 

This Labor Day, let’s make a toast not only to the hard work that each of us devotes to support our families, but also to the people who made the beautiful wine in your glass possible.

Some of My Favorite Wines So, if you’re sipping an Oregon Pinot Noir this weekend, from some of my favorite wineries such as Beaux Freres, Stoller Family Estate, Johan Biodynamic Vineyards, Antiquum Farms, and Dominio IV....just to name a few. 

Raise your glass to the farmworker who clipped those clusters in the early morning fog, to the cellar hand who punched down the cap of fermenting grapes, to the truck driver who delivered the barrels, the bottlers, the case packers. and to every unseen hand that brought beauty to your table. They are the unsung heroes of wine.

Here’s to honoring their labor with gratitude and respect.

A Toast: To the vineyard workers bending, clipping, and lifting through dawn’s mist

To the cellar hands tending fermentations under glowing tanks

To the truckers, bottle packers, and tasting room teams—often unseen, but always important

To the vineyard workers, the cellar crews, and all who labor so we may share in the joy of wine—may your hard work never go unnoticed.

To the owners, who sometimes risk their fortunes for the joy of creating beautiful wines that we simply select, open, and pour. 

To arrange your own private toast with friends, families, business teams or clients. you can contact Michael Perman at https://www.cestwhatwine.com/

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