Winemaker

The German term vintner is derived from the Latin "Vinitor" (from Vinum = wine) and means "grape picker" (Weintraubenleser). This suggests that in earlier times it meant only the activity of growing grapes, i.e. without the process of wine production. Today, in German-speaking countries, this is not an unambiguous occupational designation, but rather a general, colloquial collective term for the group of winegrowers, regardless of the scope of the activity, from the pure grape supplier to the wine producer (cellar master). As a rule, however, today only a wine production enterprise is referred to or understood as a vineyard.

Other terms are Hauer, Weinhauer and Weinbauer (Germany, Austria, Switzerland), Hacker or Häcker (Baden and Württemberg), Weingärtner or Wengerter (Württemberg), Criador (Spain), Vignaiolo (Italy, only grape producer), Coltivatore (Italy, winemaker and wine producer), Winegrower (English-speaking countries) and Vigneron or Viticulteur (France). In Austrian Styria, there used to be a distinction between vintner and winegrower. While the vintner managed his own property, the winegrower was a profession. This means that the winegrowers worked on behalf of the owner (church, private) and received money or a partial yield of the agricultural land they worked on in return. Another form used to be the half lease or partial lease (métayage).