Home away from home—housing seasonal vineyard workers

Wines & Vines, Oct, 2002 by Jane Firstenfeld

"Now, we have eight happy families living there," says Bob Gibson, vineyard manager for Roederer. Each family pays about $300 a month for these desirable dwellings, contrasted with the "$500 to $700 a month in not very nice" housing available locally, according to Gibson.

"We house 32 other single employees in dormitory-style housing and four units with separate bedrooms," Gibson says. "We actually house 80% of our employees. Many have been working for me from eight to 17 years."

How were the lucky families selected? "It was a matter of seniority, and need," Gibson says. He explained that, at 600 square feet, the units are too small for more than four occupants each.

Diminutive they may be, but these duplexes can boast that most important attribute of real estate: location, location, location. "To the west, you see redwoods, to the east you see redwoods and vineyards. Real serene," Gibson says. "It would be a choice spot for a house."

For decades, California has struggled to house the essential thousands of migrant workers who harvest its payload of cash crops. The growing urbanization of former agricultural lands, the explosive growth of the wine industry, and the eternal escalation of housing costs have only exacerbated the problem in recent years. Solutions haven't come easily, but they are coming. Little by little, the wine industry is giving these invaluable employees the dignified living conditions they deserve every harvest.