The vineyard manager for Sweet Cheeks Winery shares her experience with viticulture.
By Bethany Johnson, Breanne Schnell and Payton Wheeler
June 6th, 2014
All was silent except for the sound of crickets and clippers cutting during a foggy dawn. The morning dew soaked vineyard manager Amanda Cihlar’s gloves as she trimmed extraneous grape shoots. In addition to her management duties at Sweet Cheeks Winery in Eugene, Oregon, Cihlar facilitates the growth of approximately 44,000 vines.
A recent graduate of the masters program at the University of California, Davis , Cihlar has found her niche in viticulture.
“[I love] working with my hands. It’s very cathartic coming out here and getting lost in the vines,” Cihlar said. “I’m not the type of person to sit behind a desk.”
From a young age, Cihlar has been interested in plants. Her childhood home along Lake Erie in Northeastern Ohio had a backyard full of different gardens, bursting with flowers and herbs. Cihlar started gardening with her mother and sisters when she was a year old. Gardening connected the family and encouraged the daughters to value the outdoors.
“It’s just what we did,” her mother Claudia Cihlar, an avid gardener, said.
As a child, Cihlar wouldn’t just play outside with her mom—she would work. Mrs. Cihlar would buy flats of herbs, and Cihlar would drag them over and help dump them into the ground, unafraid to get her hands dirty. Although Cihlar worked alongside her mother, she began to plant her own plants—her favorite being flowers. Working outdoors became less of a hobby, and more of an academic interest.
“She was interested. She has a keen sense of questions for science,” Mrs. Cihlar said.
This interest was then tested in high school when Cihlar took an aptitude test that suggested she become a gardener.
“I started researching horticulture careers and viticulture popped up,” Cihlar said.
Originally concerned about her interest in the wine industry at such a young age, Cihlar’s parents were skeptical of the motivation behind her interest. As Cihlar became more serious about pursuing a career in viticulture, her parents supported her decision.
“The more she showed enthusiasm, the more we helped her become serious about it by checking out the universities that had viticulture programs,” Mrs. Cihlar said.
Cihlar continued to thrive throughout high school and would later apply for horticulture programs with the intention of pursuing viticulture. Although she was accepted into Cornell, she would turn it down for Clemson University due to financial reasons.
Clemson University is a science and engineering oriented university ranked as the 21st best national public university by U.S. News & World Report. Out of the ten people in her graduating horticulture program , Cihlar was the only woman. Cihlar excelled in the small program, graduating first in her major and winning an Outstanding Senior award. During the summer of her junior year in 2009, she was tested with a new kind of challenge.
Cihlar interned as a harvest manager for Sierra Cascade Blueberry Farm, located outside Chico, California. She chose to apply for the position because the internship was in California, and she knew that she intended to attend the University of California, Davis for her masters.
In this position, Cihlar worked eight to ten hours a day, six days a week. Her duties varied from inventory, to harvest, to marketing the blueberries in San Francisco every weekend. Cihlar found mentors in the owners, and unexpectedly, a romantic partner in the owners’ son, Will Carlon. By the end of her second summer, Cihlar had developed leadership qualities and confidence that would help her in her current position.
She also experienced the difficulties of being a woman in a male-dominated industry. On the blueberry farm, male workers didn’t always respond to her authority as a harvest manager.
“Sometimes you don’t even know you’re being discriminated against,” Cihlar said.
People would often question her ability to complete job duties, such as driving a tractor, or make inappropriate comments about her clothing.
“I’m not trying to be one of the boys, I’m just trying to be a person in the industry and I just wanted to be treated fairly,” Cihlar said.
It was after Cihlar was in charge of firing that the employees acknowledged her authority.
“I have a tremendous amount of respect for what she does because there are very few women in her profession,” said Carlon.
With her dreams in sight, Cihlar applied for a horticulture graduate program with an emphasis in viticulture at the University of California, Davis. She continued to gain experience by working in research. After graduation, Cihlar and Carlon moved to Oregon so he could attend the University of Oregon’s law program .
Cihlar found work in the Willamette Valley at Sweet Cheeks Winery as vineyard manager in 2013. Working for a winery is not as glamorous as it may seem. Her main responsibility is to facilitate the growth of the grapes. She does this by walking through the vineyard daily, checking how the grape vines are growing and deciding if she needs to make any changes.
“You have to be okay with repetition,” Cihlar said.
Although the stress of the job can be taxing, Cihlar found a home in Sweet Cheeks Winery. Harvest is the most difficult time of the year. The staff will work anywhere from 12-24 hours per day. During last harvest, Cihlar only had one day off for the month of October, sometimes working 70-80 hours a week. The staff creates an enjoyable environment that helps support each other during long, laborious days.
“You get to know each other really quickly,” Cihlar said.
The staff is able to have a good time, but also be productive.
“Amanda’s a great example of one of those people who’s incredibly personable, but when it’s not time to joke around, we can focus,” assistant winemaker Harry Thomas said.
As for the future, Cihlar isn’t sure what she would like to do, but hopes to continue expanding her work experience in the wine industry.
“I would love to do a harvest abroad,” Cihlar said, in “New Zealand, Italy or France.”
