Jobs at Meridiana

Part nine closes Meridiana's opening with work. The estate now has four careers in the Jobs app, and this winery job game gives every shift there a game of its own, built from the estate's own games: the ones visitors play, now played as a job.

Four jobs

They sit on the same ladder as every job in the game: situations to answer, performance that moves both ways, and four steady shifts in a row with the skill for a promotion.

• Vineyard work, Monday to Saturday from seven in the morning, on Fitness. From Vineyard Hand to Vineyard Manager.
• Cellar work, Monday to Friday from eight, on Cooking. From Cellar Hand to Winemaker.
• Estate tours, Tuesday to Sunday from ten, on Culture. From Estate Guide to Head Guide.
• Sommelier, Thursday to Sunday from six in the evening, on Culture. It opens only once your wine passport reaches its Sommelier stage, and it climbs to Head Sommelier.

Pay follows the rest of the game's jobs: a first shift in the vines or the cellar pays like a commis waiter's.

A game on every shift

While you work a shift at the estate, the shift strip has a button for your job's game. You can play it once each moment, about every minute and a half, like the situations. A good round lifts your performance by up to six points; a poor one costs up to four.

• The vineyard hand does the season's job: snipping the old canes in winter, counting buds in spring, checking the colour in summer, and the picking game at harvest. A streak of good picks speeds the vines up, and the sun sets over the last ten seconds. Cut a strong cane when pruning and Milan sighs.
• The cellar hand knocks six barrels. A hollow one has air at the top and needs topping up; a full one thuds. Then you draw a taste from the ready barrel with the wine thief, seal it with wax, and cork the bottling line as the bottles pass under the corker.
• The guide gives the tour in reverse: three visitors ask about Maltese wine, and you answer from the tour's forty facts.
• The sommelier reads three guests' dishes and pours the wine that goes with each. Get it right and it sparkles; get it wrong and Luca winces. The pairing rules are the same ones you learn at the tasting table.

The cellar game for everyone

You don't need the job to play the cellar game. Anyone in Meridiana's cellar can knock the barrels, draw a taste and seal one with wax, once a day, for some Fun and a little Culture. It's the same game the cellar hand plays, and if you've made your own blend, it's sleeping a few barrels along.

Questions people ask

Can I work at Meridiana as a tourist?

As with every job, a tourist can take the offer, and working it needs a permit from Identità. Locals and permit holders can start straight away.

Why can't I take the sommelier job?

It needs your wine passport at its Sommelier stage: 22 of the estate's 30 stamps. The tour, the tastings, the vineyard and the wine club all give stamps.

Does the shift's game pay extra?

No. Your pay is the shift's pay. The game moves your performance, and steady shifts are what get you promoted.

New here? Start with what Malta Living is, or read about Meridiana's own estate. Then play Malta Living free.