Wine and Viticulture
College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences
Wine and viticulture combines the study of cultivating wine grapes with the study of wines, winemaking and the wine business.
San Luis Obispo, California
Major courses are based on fundamental and applied sciences, modern agribusiness principles and appropriate social sciences. The curriculum covers wine grape cultivation, enology, as well as the wine business, to provide an academic understanding of the vine to glass.
Grape Pest Management
Survey major grape pests including diseases, insects, weeds, vertebrates and nematodes. Includes identification and biology of grape pests and natural enemies, monitoring and integrated pest management (IPM) strategies, as well as cultural, biological and chemical controls.
Plant Pathology
Study the causes and effects of disease in plants in order to understand the science and modern control methods.
Wine Analysis and Amelioration
Focus on basic principles, techniques and interpretation of common analyses for sugars, acidity, nitrogen, alcohol, volatile acidity, sulfur dioxide, phenols and color; wine and must amelioration, amendment effects, usage, calculations and procedures of addition.
Wine Microbiology
Study wine yeasts, bacteria and molds with a focus on morphology and methods of identification; successful alcoholic and malolactic fermentations; management and prevention of unwanted microbial growth; and micro-organisms and flavor development.
Enology
With an enology concentration, you will study the science of winemaking and its creative and practical application. You will learn to monitor and assess wines as well as how to make winemaking choices using sensory, chemical and microbiological analyses. This concentration helps you make creative winemaking decisions, manage a winery and provide successful solutions to winemaking challenges.
Viticulture
This concentration provides intensive training in all aspects of quality wine grape production. You will learn site evaluation and vineyard development, disease and pest management, sustainability and state-of-the-art cultural practices. Graduates typically become vineyard managers, pest control advisors or vineyard owners.
Wine Business
In this concentration, you will learn financial management, principles of vineyard and winery operations, strategic planning, branded wine marketing, direct-to-consumer sales, event planning, and logistics and distribution. Graduates are prepared for a variety of wine industry careers, with many planning to operate vineyards or wineries of their own.
About the Program
Cal Poly’s wine and viticulture program is the largest of its kind in the United States. By learning the foundations of viticulture, winemaking and the wine business, you gain a personalized understanding of wine making from vine to glass.
Our 14-acre campus vineyard and pilot winery allow you to practice your methods and develop the successful strategies needed to understand all aspects of wine. You will choose between concentrations in enology, viticulture and the wine business. All concentrations require both an internship in the grape or wine industry and a senior capstone project. Through a partnership with Compli, the most trusted leader in beverage compliance, you will also be prepared to understand the complex rules and regulations of the industry.
Learn by Doing
With a 14-acre vineyard, pilot winery and various research facilities including the new JUSTIN and J. LOHR Center for Wine and Viticulture (opening Fall 2020), you will have plenty of opportunities for real-world experiences. Our location in California's Central Coast wine country also gives you access to hundreds of award-winning wineries and provides abundant internship and research opportunities from some of the wine industry’s top leaders.
Travel through Europe
Our Graduates
Our graduates are prepared for the multifaceted positions within the grape and wine industry.
Alumni have gone on to work as winery founders and owners, viticulturists, enologists, production assistants, cellar workers, chain sales merchandisers, account managers, lab technicians, wine and spirit managers, and marketing associates.