Do You Pay Your Staff? Hiring Professionals for Quality Wine

Our local newspaper, The Independent, last week ran a front-page article about a Livermore winery that ran afoul of State regulators for allegedly using unpaid volunteers at their establishment. Substantial penalties were handed out, and the violation may force the winery to close its doors. The reporter suggested that the use of volunteer labor is endemic among small Livermore wineries, and that many now are running scared. It is this allegation that compels me to respond.

I can’t speak for the other wineries, but we have always employed paid staff.  We established this policy at the beginning, in keeping with our commitment to best practices in our winery.  Indeed, payroll is our biggest single expense. Although this may place us at an economic disadvantage with respect to wineries that use volunteer labor, I feel that using professional staff complements our wine growing and winemaking philosophies, and ultimately allows us to produce better wine.  The results do speak for themselves, as the top five wineries in Livermore, in terms of outside judgments of quality, of which Occasio is one, pay their staffs.

Our paid staff is also covered by workers’ compensation, which insures against injury and lost work hours. And though we have yet to need it, knowing my staff is insured helps me sleep at night.