Cal Poly Wine and Viticulture Program

Cal Poly

San Luis Obispo, California

Wine and Viticulture 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 winemaking 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.

Cal Poly’s College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences offers a unique interdisciplinary major in Wine and Viticulture. All students in the major are educated about all aspects of the wine industry, with a curriculum that combines an understanding of vineyards, winemaking and wine business.

Professional positions within the grape and wine industry are now multi-dimensional, with winemakers and grape growers working together. To develop successful strategies, management teams must understand all aspects of wine. The major is based on fundamental and applied sciences, modern agribusiness principles, and appropriate social sciences; plus, it encompasses grape cultivation, enology and wine business. The curriculum fosters an academic alliance among production agriculture, food science and agricultural business interests, and provides an academic understanding of the “vine to glass” opportunity.

Concentrations

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. MORE ABOUT ENOLOGY

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. MORE ABOUT VITICULTURE

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. MORE ABOUT WINE BUSINESS

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, 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.