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-Angie Johnson-Schmit
he wine business in Arizona is booming. With over 20 vineyards, wineries, and tasting rooms in the area, the Verde Valley has become a wine destination that attracts both winemakers and wine enthusiasts. Located in the heart of the Verde Valley in Clarkdale, the Southwest Wine Center at Yavapai College has been at the forefront of supporting this growth industry through their degree and certificate programs since 2009. Designed with the budding vineyard owner and winemaker in mind, the programs are a blend of online learning and in-person weekend-long labs, or “Grape Camps.”
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STUDENTS CAN PURSUE THREE DIFFERENT
CERTIFICATE PROGRAMS AT YAVAPAI COLLEGE:
Viticulture Fundamentals, Viticulture Advanced Certificate, and the Enology Certificate. Students who want to learn it all can earn an Associate of Applied Science degree in Viticulture and Enology. It is the only program of its kind in the state.
Viticulture, or the study of growing grapes, is at the core of learning how to establish a vineyard. The viticulture program covers a range of topics, including water management, soils, and entomology. Enology, or the study of wine and winemaking, focuses on teaching students how to make wine. The enology program covers the entire process, from harvest to bottle, including coursework on chemistry, wines from across the world, and the sensory evaluation of wine. Students have a voice at the 13-acre vineyard, and a say in which wines the class will make at the on-campus working winery. They take the grapes grown in the vineyard through the winemaking process – harvest, crush, press, fermentation, aging and bottling. They
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Southwest Wine Center Prepares Students to Enter Wine Industry.
