Wine Jobs: Wine Making

Winemaking as a profession is truly the marriage of art and science. Before a winemaker even steps into a vineyard or winery, he or she must decide what kind of winemaker they want to be. Do they want to work with a small staff at a boutique winery where they focus on small lots of one varietal? Or do they want to work for a large, commercial winery where they are part of a winemaking team that produces up to one million cases a year?

There are only a handful of American universities that offer degrees in viticulture or enology, and the majority is in California. There, world-class wine regions such as Napa Valley and Santa Ynez are nurtured by the warm climate and long growing season. In other words, it is an ideal setting for research, homework and internships.

The king of wine schools is UC Davis, located close to Sacramento and home to the Robert Mondavi Institute of Wine and Food Science. Established in 1880, the university offers undergraduate, graduate and doctorate degrees in viticulture and enology. Its list of graduates reads like an international Who’s Who of wine leaders, from Bob Levy of Harlan Estates and Heidi Barrett of Screaming Eagle to Anne Noble, inventor of the Wine Aroma Wheel.

Other respected programs in California include Fresno State University and Cal Poly University in San Luis Obispo. Cornell University in New York also has a viticulture and enology program.

While a formal education is ideal, a new generation of winemakers is increasingly interested in a hands-on approach to learning. This can include working multiple harvests around the world, apprenticing for winemakers and hand-picking courses. Ehren Jordan, who makes wines for Failla in Napa Valley and Turley Wine Cellars in Paso Robles, has no wine degree and was named the San Francisco Chronicle’s 2008 Winemaker of the Year.