Vintager

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An individual dedicated to the gathering of grapes used in winemaking
2. Someone who collects grapes from vineyards for the purpose of producing wine
3. A laborer tasked with picking grapes during the harvest season to use in winemaking

Etymology: "Vintager" is a plain English formation: the noun "vintage," meaning the gathering of grapes and the wine made from them, with the agent suffix "-er" attached to name the person who does the gathering. The base itself came into English from Old French "vendange," the harvest of grapes, which in turn descends from Latin "vindemia," a word built from "vinum" (wine) and a root meaning to gather. So the word carries the Latin for wine inside it, even though the path to English ran through French. The noun is a close relative of French "vendangeur," a grape-picker, which shows the same idea of harvesting grapes taking shape in a second language. English "vintager" adds nothing unusual of its own; it simply names the worker in the vineyard at harvest time, the person whose labour the wine itself depends on.

Synonyms: winemaker, producer