Fresno State Jordan College of Ag Sciences and Technology adding new 'Wine Business' degree

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Fresno State's viticulture and enology programme is increasing with a caller major.

The "Wine Business" grade volition let students to grow their cognition from winemaking to vino marketing.

Fresno State students astatine Jordan College get hands-on experience.

That includes bottling and packaging the precise vino they marque connected campus.

Sonet Van Zyl, the Department Chair for Viticulture and Enology, says the students larn everything astir the winemaking process from pruning the vines to moving with the vino equipment.

"We marque definite that they are acceptable with hands-on acquisition to spell into the industry," Zyl said. "They privation radical that person astatine slightest touched each portion of the process."

Now, that process of learning is expanding arsenic the section is adding a caller "Wine Business" grade successful concern with the Ag Business program.

"This volition assistance america marque our students acceptable for that tract of concern and marketing, moving a tasting room, managing each of the logistics down selling skills and concern skills," Van Zyl said.

Students volition inactive larn astir the winemaking process, but present they volition besides beryllium required to instrumentality classes successful accounting, marketing, absorption and more.

Madasen Gutierrez is presently an enology pupil and has already had an internship astatine Cedar View Winery successful Sanger.

"It was a precise tiny accumulation and constricted staff, truthful I truly got hands-on acquisition of the process and the winemaking," Gutierrez said.

But it was the clip spent successful the tasting country that helped her admit her involvement successful much of the selling side.

So successful the fall, she's readying to officially alteration her large to the caller vino concern option.

"I person a full of 10 much classes to take," Gutierrez said.

If each goes well, she'll beryllium the archetypal postgraduate with the grade successful Spring of 2025.

Gutierrez plans to usage everything she learns arsenic she looks for a occupation successful the future.

"I deliberation my emotion of vino and vino manufacture and my knowing of however vino is made is going to construe well," Gutierrez said.

Van Zyl said she hopes this caller grade volition marque much well-rounded professionals successful the manufacture and that it volition pull a larger pupil population.

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