My Internship at Whidbey Island Winery Mitch Adams

My Internship
at
Whidbey Island Winery
Mitch Adams
05-17-11 to 08-12-11
Just me doing a little leaf thinning.
Whidbey Island Winery is located in Langley, Washington on
Whidbey Island of the Puget Sound. The vineyard was planted
in 1986 and the winery opened in 1992. It has been family
owned since the day they started by Greg and Elizabeth
Osenbach. Greg is the head winemaker and Leah Waaramki is
the assistant winemaker. They produce both red and white
wines importing grapes from the Yakima Valley but also have
three white varieties of estate grown grapes.
The winery and extra cellar.
The scenic entrance to the vineyard.
My responsibilities included
all summer vineyard tasks
as well as helping out in
winery operations.
• Weeding
• Bud/ shoot thinning
•Leaf thinning
•Tucking & topping
•Racking
• Pump-overs
•Labeling
•Bottling
• Plus many other smaller
tasks
My ride to work.
This internship was my first chance at hands-on learning in the wine
industry. My goal is to become a winemaker but the best winemakers
know the vineyard side of the industry as well, and I was able to do all
of the work that goes on in a vineyard during the summer. This
experience taught me so much more than what the classroom offers. I
saw what goes into running a prosperous small vineyard and winery
while gaining a better understanding of the entire wine industry and
specifically the undervalued Western Washington wine industry.
The tasting room and vineyard.