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VocationVacations® - Hilton HHonors® Rewards


Wine Maker

Newport Vineyards

Middletown, RI

Reward code: VVWMNV

Hilton HHonors® Points: 420,000

Does the first sip of a new wine test your palate and spark your imagination? Do you want to know not just where and when a wine was produced, but how it was made?  Perhaps you have tried to make your own wine and are now ready for some expert advice on the best way to get the grapes to the bottles, the bottles to the customers?  Then roll up your sleeves for a hands-on experience on your VocationVacations® dream job holiday as a winemaker with the team at Newport Vineyards.

With the goal of producing fine wines while preserving beautiful agricultural land from rapid development, Newport Vineyards was planted in 1977 on a hill overlooking Rhode Island Sound.  In 1995, Paul Nunes, co-owner and vineyard manager, purchased the winery with his brother and began focusing on environmentally-conscious wine production.  Paul’s farming philosophy can best be described as sustainable agriculture. “We use organic compost and fertilizers instead of synthetically produced nutrients, and planting and mowing a cover crop allows for the reduction in herbicides that control weeds,” explains Paul.  “The best wines come from a combination of quality soil, a favorable climate and meticulously managed vines.”

Winemaker George Chelf has been with the winery since 1988.  He believes in employing traditional winemaking techniques in combination with modern tools to maximize the quality of the wines.  “Our goal is to preserve the natural character of the grape and the terroir with as little manipulation as possible,” says George. George works with seventeen grape varieties planted on fifty acres of the winery’s fourth generation farm.  Thirty acres are devoted to Vinifera grapes such as Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Gewurztraminer, Riesling, Merlot and Cabernet Franc.  The remaining acreage is planted with hybrid grapes such as Vidal Blanc, Seyval Blanc, Cayuga, Chancellor, Foch and Landot Noir.  The winery’s most notable wine is the Vidal Ice Wine, a dessert wine made from frozen grapes harvested in November and December. 

Located 10 minutes from downtown Newport, the winery’s products are sold in the winery’s tasting room and in wine stores and restaurants in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.  Steve Krohn, director of sales and marketing, oversees the distributor network and the Newport hospitality segment. He and his wife own the New England Wine School based in Providence.  Steve is an expert in teaching others how to professionally analyze wines and how to pair wines with food.

While on your winemaker VocationVacations® dream job holiday with Paul, George and Steve, the team at Newport Vineyards, activities will include some or all of the following:

  • Wine appreciation and education
  • Harvesting (October) – picking, crushing, pressing grapes…and clean up
  • Preparing the wine for bottling (November – May) – clarification, cold stabilizing,
  • fermentation, racking, topping barrels, wine blending….and clean up.
  • Bottling and labeling (April – September) – setting up bottling, line, lab work, label
  • Layout, labeling, bottling…and clean up
  • In the field (April – September) – leaf cluster thinning for wine quality, grape pest
  • Monitoring, soil and leaf tissue sampling and general viticulture practice

The winemaker VocationVacations® dream job holiday with the team at Newport Vineyards includes:

  • Two days of one-on-one mentorship in your dream job as a winemaker.
  • The ability to take the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®), an online personality assessment designed to identify interests and skill sets
  • The opportunity to participate in a total of one hour of pre- and post- VocationVacations career coaching from an accredited, affiliated VocationVacations career coach
  • A pocket-size VocationVacations journal so you can document your dream job coming to reality
  • Light lunches with your mentor

Available: All year based on Mentors availability with exception of holiday weekends


Suggested Accommodations:
Hampton Inn & Suites
(Not included in the cost of your VocationVacations)

Other activities and tourist destinations while on your VocationVacations® adventure:

To redeem HHonors points for a gift certificate or a VocationVacation, call your nearest Hilton Reservations & Customer Care Office and provide the appropriate Reward Code and your HHonors account number.

Hilton HHonors membership, earning of Points & Miles®, and redemption of points are subject to HHonors Terms and Conditions .

Reservation, Cancellation and Rescheduling Rules and Conditions:
A $100 non-refundable fee is assessed if a VocationVacations experience is cancelled or rescheduled prior to 14-days of the scheduled VocationVacations holiday, based on the approved availability of the mentor to reschedule. A VocationVacation cannot be rescheduled and is non-refundable if cancelled within 14 days of the scheduled VocationVacations holiday. Written notification of cancellation or rescheduling is required in all cases. Grounded Nomads, LLC dba VocationVacations encourages all customers to acquire travel insurance to cover any unforeseen expenses due to cancellation or rescheduling.