Survey finds deeply integrated vineyard workforce

By Caleb Hampton

A first-of-its-kind survey conducted last year of vineyard workers in Sonoma County found that the renowned winegrape region’s workforce is richly experienced and deeply rooted in the county. More than 1,600 workers participated in the survey, which was conducted by the Fundación de la Voz de los Viñedos, a grower-founded organization that supports local vineyard employees. 

“We did this survey to better understand our vineyard workforce, their current roles and their aspirations for the future,” Karissa Kruse, executive director of the Fundación de la Voz de los Viñedos and president and CEO of the Sonoma County Winegrowers, said in a statement. 

Nearly all the survey respondents identified as Mexican, Mexican American or Chicano. Their responses showed most have worked in the county’s vineyards for years, many of them alongside family members, often arriving in Sonoma County with prior agricultural work experience. On average, respondents said they had worked on farms for 14 years, with nine of those years in Sonoma County and seven years with their current employer. 

“It is very common to visit various farms and meet a number of employees who have worked for the same employer for 10, 20 or even 30 years,” Kruse said.

José Martínez, who shared his story last year with Ag Alert®, said he worked in the cornfields of his home state of Oaxaca, Mexico, before moving to California with his wife and starting a family. In 2010, Martínez found a job at Dutton Ranch, a Sonoma County vineyard, where he and his family have lived and he has worked ever since.

“I like working in the vineyards,” Martínez said, “especially harvesting the crop after all the work we do to take care of the vines.”

The county’s vineyard workforce is predominantly male, with an average age of 36 years, according to survey results. For many workers, their families are deeply integrated into the region’s agricultural community. About 90% of respondents said they have children, with 40% of worker families living in employer-provided housing. Around half of respondents said they were married, and 56% said they have a family member working with them for the same employer. More than a quarter said their partner also works in agriculture. 

More than 80% of respondents reside in Sonoma County, with many living in Santa Rosa. 

About a third of survey respondents reported working in Sonoma County on H-2A visas, a program that requires employers to provide housing, while the rest said they were not seasonal guestworkers. Various studies have estimated more than half of California farmworkers are undocumented immigrants. 

“It is interesting that the great majority of the vineyard workforce in Sonoma County have nearly fifteen years of experience in agriculture,” said Duff Bevill, who grows winegrapes in the county and serves as chair of the foundation. “We are blessed to have such a proficient workforce who enjoy working and living in Sonoma County.”

The survey, titled “State of the Industry: Current Trends, Conditions and Future Prospects for Sonoma County’s Vineyard Workforce,” is the largest and most comprehensive survey ever taken of vineyard workers in the county. It was conducted during the summer of 2024, featuring 60 questions, with participation from employees of small, medium and large vineyard operations. Results were published last month. 

Around 80% of survey respondents said they were field workers, with others serving in supervisory roles or working in specialized positions such as tractor driving. 

“It’s a skilled job,” Steve Dutton, owner of Dutton Ranch, said of vineyard fieldwork. “You have to understand the form of the grapevine, how you want its structure to be, pruning, suckering, leaf-pulling, all kinds of things.”

The partnership in Sonoma County between growers and the well-established vineyard workforce has enabled the region to produce some of the world’s best cabernets, chardonnays and pinot noirs, which annually fetch around $8 billion in sales.

About a quarter of all jobs in Sonoma County are in the winemaking and grape-growing sectors, bringing in more than $3 billion annually in wages, according to Sonoma County Vintners. Wine tourism generates an additional $1.2 billion each year.

“Sonoma County’s vineyard workforce has been integral to the wine community’s success, and they are poised to continue to grow and evolve with the industry,” said Christopher Thornburg, founding partner of Beacon Economics, a research and consulting firm that partnered with Fundación de la Voz de los Viñedos to conduct the survey and analyze results. 

Workers who participated in the survey reported earning higher wages than most farmworkers and receiving more benefits and training, with 80% saying they would recommend working in agriculture. They also said they enjoy working outdoors, working with their hands and the camaraderie they have with their coworkers.

Not including H-2A workers, who are guaranteed a higher minimum wage, field workers reported earning between $18 and $20 per hour, roughly 20% above minimum wage, and substantially more during harvest season. 

Overall, vineyard workers in the county earn roughly 40% higher wages than other Californians with similar education levels, according to survey results, with three-quarters of full-time employees enrolled in employer-provided health insurance plans. More than 94% of respondents said working in the vineyards was their only job. 

“There is a unique relationship between Sonoma County vineyard employees and their employer that has been founded on trust,” Kruse said. She added that nearly all the workers who participated in the survey said they want “to gain new competencies, learn new skills and continue receiving job training.”

Some of the skills employees said they want to learn include using smartphone apps for farming, crop estimation, management skills, tractor driving and equipment operation. 

“In many aspects of agriculture, you can never finish learning,” José Ventura Vieyra García, a crew leader at Cornerstone Certified Vineyard in Sonoma County, told Ag Alert® last year. “I want to keep learning and teaching newcomers.” 

More than 80% of vineyard workers who participated in the survey said they want to learn more about sustainable farming methods. 

“Vineyard employees in Sonoma County have a very savvy understanding of the future of agriculture in the region,” Kruse said, “and they intend to be an important part of that future.”

(Caleb Hampton is an assistant editor of Ag Alert. He may be contacted at champton@cfbf.com.)