Call for third-party Vineyard and Winery inspectors for SIP Certified

SIP Certified is looking for third-party inspectors to audit SIP Certified Vineyard and Winery Applications.  Applicants should have knowledge of viticulture/winemaking and experience with auditing.

SIP Certified is a rigorous sustainable certification program for vineyards, wineries, and wine made with certified fruit. Verification through third-party inspectors ensures that the Standards are upheld without conflict of interest.

The inspector’s duty is to objectively document and verify what is seen, heard, and stated during the inspection and accurately and completely report the results in the format supplied by the SIP Certified program.

Inspectors shall be familiar with all aspects of the program and the principles on which SIP Certified is based. Inspector shall be thoroughly familiar with the SIP Certified Standards, Information Package, and all program rules.

SIP Certified staff will provide training for inspectors to ensure they are knowledgeable and comfortable with the program and the inspection process.

In general, the SIP Certified Vineyard and Winery inspection schedules are as follows:

Timeline	Action
Dec. 1 - Nov. 30	SIP Certified annual cycle
By Feb.	SIP Certified staff posts a list of changes made to previous year's materials and Standards required for Cycle 2 & 3 inspecitons
Mar. - May	Applicant selects inspector and schedules inspection
Mar.	Staff conducts inspector training
Mar. 15 - July 15	Inspections are conducted in the database
July 25	Submission of inspection report(s) to staff through the database
August	Inspection reports are reviewed for eligibility by Certification Advisory Committee (CAC)
Dec. 15	Vineyards submit 9.1.2 July to November Pesticide Use Reports and Chapter 14 Year-End Water and Nitrogen Use Reports to inspectors Wineries submit 11.3.4 noise testing (every three years) to inspectors
Dec. 31	Submission of inspection on December 15 Standards to staff through the database

If you are interested in becoming a third-party Vineyard and Winery auditor or know someone who is, please send a CV to whitney@vineyardteam.org.