SUNDAY 7th APRIL 2024​

Happy Easter to you all! This is our first staff bulletin of the year, and it's a BIG one!

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2024 is a massive year for the vineyard, and we're playing our biggest team yet!!  Due to our growing numbers, we've spent some time making things more "official" at the vineyard, and this staff webpage will host some important information to help support you in your roles this year.

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Communications

We've tried to put everything in place to serve as a point of reference for you and will also use this as a way of sharing information with you.

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The vineyard WhatsApp group will be extended to everyone to be used as a method of communication between the team during events. If you are not working, then please feel free to mute the conversation so it doesn't disturb you on a day off (ask me if you don't know how to do this). Outside of event days, we will keep comms to a minimum on this channel other than letting you know when to check for updates on here.

 

1. First up - please check your diaries for this year's Staff Training Day - Saturday 11 May 2024. This is a paid training day where we'll go through what to expect this year, and also a chance to meet the growing team - please let us know if you're unable to make it.

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10:30 - 13:00 Vineyard Team

12:30 - 15:00 Kitchen Team

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2. Next, please find an introduction to what you will find hosted on this webpage:

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Staff Rota

All the events days for the summer are listed below. Please take some time and work out which dates you are able to commit to at this stage, and I'll update the rota so you'll be able to see at a glance when you've agreed to work. As always, this remains flexible as we understand plans can change this far out, but if you can give us as much notice as possible on any changes, so that we can make sure any gaps are filled.

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Shifts will run as follows:

Vineyard Tour Hosts: 10am - 7pm OR split shifts of 10am - 4pm, 1pm - 7pm - whichever you prefer.

Kitchen Team: 10am - 2.30pm, 2.30pm - 7pm

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Employee Handbook

In response to our growing team, we will have an official "Employee Handbook" in place to support you all. We are still working on this with our HR team, but when it is ready to be published I'll let you know. Please take the time to read through it and familiarise yourselves with our policies. If you have any questions, please just let Jon or myself know.

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Uniform Order Form

Some of our growing team will have surely grown out of their uniform by now! Please see our workwear page where you can order new uniform. Please order what you think you will need - I would suggest 2 x of the polo shirts/blouses to see you through a weekend. Please would you place your orders by Friday 26 April to make sure we can get delivery in time for the training day.

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Product and Tour Notes

If you need a refresher on what we offer at the vineyard, or the info we include on the tour, all the information is stored here. Even if you are not leading tours, you may find it useful to know about the products we are offering this year.

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Customer FAQ's

These are some of the more popular questions we get asked by our customers - we'll continue to update this throughout hte season as more questions come in!

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3. Introduction to The 2024 Team!

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Dominic - this will be Dom's third season at the vineyard, and he's now a bit of an oracle on all things WHV. Dom hold a WSET Diploma, and teaches WSET Level 1 and 2 courses for Birmingham Wine School.

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Melissa - back for her second season, Melissa knows her way around the vineyard. Melissa is WSET Level 3 qualied, and also a specialist in Thai wines - she has recently returned from the harvest season in Thailand.

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Chris - we're thrilled to have Chris back on the team. He was instrumental in helping us during the first year of tours and as well as hosting vineyard events, Chris will also be supporting us at local Food Festivals and helping us offer a "Click and Collect" service on a Friday afternoon. With a WSET Level 3, and sommelier experience under his belt, Chris will be ready to hit the ground running.

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Dy - no stranger to the vineyard, and some of you will recognise Dy as our official photographer in 2022. Dy has been a huge help supporting us in the office as our Marketing and Events Executive since January, and is keen to support on tours as well over the summer months.

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Elise - originally from the area, Elisa has recently relocated back from London. Elise has completed her WSET Level 1, and has a special interest in spirits and cocktails - sounds like the right time to maybe think about bringing out a new gin this year!

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Scott - new to the team, Scott hails originally from Canada, where is is hugely knowledgable on the Canadian wine scene. Having recently completed his WSET Level 2, Scott will be welcoming customers and supporting on tours and tastings this summer.

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Kitchen Team

Jack and Ben - this will be their third year running at the vineyard, plus they've both undertaken a week's work experience in the office too. We will look forward to seeing them once their GSCE's are out of the way!

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Edie - second year at the vineyard, and also seems to know just what needs doing.

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Ava - sister of Jack, and her first summer at the vineyard....Ava helped us out on one of the cheese & wine events, so knows what to expect.

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Jess - another new starter, and will appear at the vineyard once her GCSE's are done and dusted. Like Ava, Jess has also helped support on one of our cheese & wine events so is familiar with how our events are run.