General Manager of Viticulture & Winemaking

Job Description

Company Summary
Constellation Brands is a leading international producer and marketer of beer, wine, and spirits with operations in the U.S., Mexico, New Zealand, and Italy. Our mission is to build brands that people love, pushing boundaries to think beyond today because we believe that elevating human connections is Worth Reaching For. Our Wine & Spirits Division strives to lead the high-end market with a world-class portfolio of premium and fine wines and craft spirits that reflect authenticity, passion, and uncompromising standards—from soil to glass. Our success is powered by a high-performing, entrepreneurial team that moves with agility, works collaboratively, and is driven to win while growing their careers in a dynamic, rewarding environment.

Position Summary

The General Manager is responsible for providing strategic leadership and operational guidance for all aspects of Sea Smoke's grape supply and wine production. This role oversees operations and the team to ensure protocols are in place for producing high-quality wines, while consistently meeting volume and cost requirements. Additionally, the General Manager drives continuous improvement, implements corporate policies and strategies, and maintains best practices. This leader excels in fostering an inclusive, diverse, and high-performing team.

The General Manager ensures the production of high-quality wines, meeting volume and cost requirements, and drives initiatives for operational efficiency and quality enhancement. They implement corporate policies and strategies to maintain best practices and foster an inclusive, diverse, and high-performing team environment. Collaborating with Group Winemaking, the General Manager upholds quality control standards and sensory standards. They work closely with the Brand Marketing team to develop and execute strategic and annual marketing plans, managing profit and loss to ensure bottom-line profitability. Additionally, the General Manager acts as a key ambassador in key markets, working with the sales team to educate stakeholders about Sea Smoke and attending industry events as a representative of the brand.

Responsibilities

Operations Management

• Develop and execute a departmental budget to strategically leverage diverse resources, prioritize real-time operations, and support long-term productivity, quality, and efficiency goals.
• Build working relationships with peers to ensure accurate and consistent information flow, procedure execution, and overall operational performance.
• Interact with vendors to exploit technology, purchase equipment and services, and resolve long-term equipment, training, and process issues.
• Determine operations policies consistent with company or divisional policies and supervise their application.
• Recommend long-range strategic, capacity, and capital planning.
• Oversee asset preservation of buildings and equipment, plant security, and protection.
• Ensure execution of production schedules based on sales forecasts and winery capacity.
• Lead operations personnel in applying methods and production standards, adhering to safety and quality programs.
• Select, train, motivate, and supervise an efficient team to achieve goals.
• Establish and maintain procedures and guidelines for participation in the Safety Process onsite.
• Ensure Sea Smoke employees and on-site guests comply with safety and environmental practices, lead by example and build a safety-first culture.
• Develop a keen focus on customer service and proactive communication across the team.
• Be a leader and coach leadership, driving cultural change, accountability, and a continuous improvement mindset throughout the organization.
• Promote and maintain a clean workplace that is always “tour-ready.”
• Assure compliance of all operations with company policy and federal, state, and local regulations.
• Analyze, evaluate, and manage various operation performance indicators such as product quality, line efficiencies, budget variance, and capital investments.
• Implement strategies in alignment with strategic initiatives and provide a clear sense of direction and focus.

Winemaking

• Build strategic working relationships with peers to ensure accurate and consistent information flow, procedure execution, and overall operational performance.
• Oversee the Winemaking team, provide focus as required, and ensure accountability for job responsibilities.
• Assure that wines exhibit the characteristics typical of variety, region, vineyard, and/or any other specifications established for a blend or brand.
• Ensure wines are produced and identified correctly in accordance with applicable regulatory standards.
• Provide expertise to analyze and facilita