You will know what it is to experience complete and utter tranquillity after you step out of your vehicle at Weening & Barge Winery. Home to the exclusive range of sought-after Ridgemor wines, the winery is located in one of the most fertile wine producing areas in the Stellenbosch district.(The name of the wine range is taken from the farm’s original name that is said to have been a contraction of the names of the previous owners, Ridge and Morris.) The wine internship at Weening & Barge Winery is conducted by Ken Nicholson, the charismatic general manager who is in charge of all agricultural activities on the farm. During your internshp, you will participate in all day-to-day aspects of wine and agricultural production.

Your Responsibilities Include:

• Some basic farm administration and paperwork.
• Wine sales. This is an excellent opportunity if you are considering a career as a wine connosseiur or wine salesman. You will come away with an in-depth knowledge of the farm's grape varietals and wines.
• Pruning and irrigation (both drip and overhead) of the vineyards.
• Taking part in the physical grape harvesting process. 
• Basic farm repairs and maintenance.
• Driving farm machinery (including tractors).
Ken offers you the opportunity to become involved in a very special project. There is an area of fallow land on the Weening & Barge farm that needs to be profiled in order for farm management to decide what to plant there. As an intern, you will be required to take extensive soil samples which you will then analyse to create a soil profile. This in turn will inform your costing calculations and proposal for a new crop to be grown on the land. This type of hands-on experience will stand you in good stead when you return to your country of origin to manage your own farm or pursue your career in agriculture. 

Program Fee Excludes:

• Airfare
• Rent
• Personal expenses (food, activities)
• Private transportation (a requirement for those working at internship sites located within the townships)
• Traveler''s insurance 

If you have some basic knowledge of wine farming and an interest in agriculture, you should definitely consider this position. All you will need is the ability to improvise and get your hands dirty!  You will come away from this internship with a wealth of knowledge about agriculture and wine farming.

Accommodation and Food: Most VACorps participants will live within an area of the city called Observatory (affectionately referred to as ‘Obz’). One of the most exciting student neighbourhoods in all of Cape Town, Obz features a surprisingly cosmopolitan vibe despite its intimate size. This can be largely contributed to the international visitors (like you) that make up a large percentage of the area’s inhabitants. Living in Observatory is a great way to experience the cultural and political vibes of the ‘New South Africa’ in a way that will introduce you the larger scale complexities of a nation still defining its post-Apartheid identity.

Application Process is online, please follow the given link http://www.vacorps.com/application/

Note: You will not need a visa prior to arrival in South Africa unless you are planning to intern for a period greater than three months. When passing through South African customs, you will be issued a 90-day tourist visa after presenting a copy of your flight itinerary to an immigration official. This proves that you intend to leave the country at the end of your visit. If you participate in a three-month internship and would like to visit neighbouring countries after your program is finished, you may apply for another three month extension at the South African Office of Home Affairs, located in downtown Cape Town, Foreshore. We advise all of our participants to secure their visa extension one month prior to the expiry of their original tourist visa.