Allan Hancock College’s Viticulture and Enology Program is the epitome of hands-on learning. Students not only learn the science behind grape growing and winemaking, but also how to operate a winery and actually harvest the crop.
Walking into the college’s winery, one is met with wine-stained barrels stacked on top of one another. Against the wall stands a large egg-shaped wine fermenter with Allan Hancock College stamped onto the front. Large bottles of sparkling blanc de noir wine with a centennial seal, celebrating the college’s 100 year anniversary, sit in a crate.
After a year of being away from the in-person classroom, Program Coordinator Alfredo Koch, Ph.D., is ecstatic to get students back into this space in the fall. In addition to the winery, the college has its own vineyard that students can use to hone their skills, from the field to the tasting room. If all goes to plan, classes should all be in person again this fall.
During the pandemic, Koch had to get creative with his virtual classes, given what a hands-on discipline winemaking is.
“We made pictures, videos of everything,” Koch said.
Some of the fall courses include Sensory Evaluation of Wine, Soils and Plant Nutrition, Wine Tasting Room Sales, and Harvest Boot Camp, among others. A new course is Wine Analysis, taught by instructor Tara Machin. Koch said Machin has decades of experience working at Central Coast wineries.
“When something is going in a different direction in the wine, there’s so much technology now that you can correct a lot of things,” Koch said as he walked through the student vineyard. In Machin’s class, “you learn how to correct, what the problems usually are, how they develop.”
The degrees available to students in the program include an Enology/Viticulture Associate in Arts, a Certificate of Accomplishment in Pairing Wine and Food, and a Wine Business Associate in Science, among others. With the California Community Colleges Promise Grant, eligible California residents can attend for free.
Koch said some students go straight into the industry, while others transfer to four-year universities with popular wine programs, including Cal Poly, UC Davis, Fresno State, or even the University of Bordeaux in France.
“I don’t know of any student that couldn’t find a job,” Koch said. “And many students who have wanted to transfer, they do transfer.”
Other Hancock students are already working in the industry, Koch said, and just looking to learn something new or brush up their knowledge on certain aspects of winemaking.
“Some are actually owners, or sons or daughters of owners, that don’t want to commit to four years,” he said. “They prefer to study one or two years, so they come here.”
A priority in Hancock’s viticulture and enology program is teaching and promoting sustainable winemaking.
“One unique course that we have here is Biodynamic Winemaking and Viticulture,” he said. “We teach organic, biodynamic, sustainable viticulture. I’ve been growing organically for many years.”
Koch, who has made wine most of his life, has witnessed how changing climates affect the industry.
“Because of climate change, in Bordeaux where they produce cabernet, they added a few varietals because of the heat that you can incorporate in the blend,” Koch said. “One is touriga.”
Hancock’s student vineyard grows touriga, a Portuguese grape variety. It’s one of about 50 varietals that students get to care for and harvest from the vineyard and then blend into the college’s various wines, giving students the real-life experience they need to carry into the industry.
Those interested in Hancock’s Viticulture and Enology programs can head to the department’s website, hancockcollege.edu/viticulture, to learn more about enrollment.
Highlights
• The Santa Maria Public Library’s youth services division is giving local teens an opportunity to get creative this summer. Junior high and high school students can pick up a Teen Paint with Me pack, including “all the supplies needed to create a personalized geometric masterpiece,” according to the city. The library is also hosting a follow-along art lesson on Zoom on July 29 from 3 to 5 p.m., as well as posting instructions on the library’s YouTube channel. While supplies last, teens can pick up the art packs at the library’s youth services desk beginning July 17, and no registration is required.
• Dignity Health Central Coast wants to help local residents save lives. The health company is partnering with Vitalant to host blood drives in SLO and Santa Barbara counties. “In order to bolster local and national blood supplies, Vitalant is calling on the community to come forward and give blood,” according to Dignity Health. “The process takes only 45 minutes but can save up to three lives.” A drive at French Hospital Medical Center will be on July 20 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Copeland Health Education Pavilion, located at 1911 South Johnson Ave. in San Luis Obispo. Another on Aug. 24 will be hosted at Arroyo Grande Community Hospital from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Annex Conference Room, located at 345 South Halcyon Road. A third will be at the Marian Regional Medical Center on Aug. 27 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Conference Center, located at 1400 East Church St. in Santa Maria.
Staff Writer Malea Martin wrote this week’s Spotlight. Send tips to spotlight@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jul 22-29, 2021.