Designed for aspiring winemakers, winery staff, researchers, students, grape growers and serious wine enthusiasts, this intensive course provides a comprehensive, hands-on immersion into the complete winemaking process. Held at the state-of-the-art UC Davis Teaching and Research Winery, you’ll develop the knowledge, technical skills and confidence to produce high-quality wine from grape reception through fermentation, maturation, stabilization, fining, filtration, bottling and quality evaluation.
Through a combination of classroom instruction and practical winery experience, you’ll learn the scientific principles behind winemaking while applying industry-standard techniques, equipment and best practices. Topics include yeast rehydration and inoculation, nutrient management to prevent problematic fermentations, winery equipment operation, grape crushing, filtration, bottling and quality control.
By the end of the course, you’ll have a strong understanding of the critical decisions made at each stage of wine production and be prepared to apply these concepts in commercial, research, educational or advanced hobbyist winemaking settings. You’ll also gain foundational skills for careers in commercial wineries, research and teaching wineries, vineyards, quality assurance laboratories or boutique and home winemaking.
Learning Outcomes
• Explain the scientific and practical principles that guide modern winemaking
• Perform essential winery operations safely and effectively
• Monitor and manage alcoholic and malolactic fermentations, including preventing and addressing problematic fermentations
• Evaluate grape juice and wine chemistry to make informed production decisions
• Apply cleaning, sanitation and quality control practices throughout the winemaking process
• Compare wine filtration techniques as a tool for quality management
• Assess the impact of processing choices on wine style and quality
• Develop confidence in working in a winery environment using professional equipment and techniques
• Yeast culture preparation and inoculation
• Alcoholic fermentation management
• Fermentation monitoring (Brix, density and temperature)
• Winery calculations for nutrient and juice adjustments
• Fermentation troubleshooting
• Malolactic fermentation management
• Production decision-making
• Cold and protein stabilization
• Wine fining
• Sulfur dioxide management
• Barrel aging management
• Wine filtration
• Bottling operations
• Quality assurance and quality control
Course Format and Pacing
This weeklong, in-person course includes five (5) full days of training held at the state-of-the-art UC Davis Teaching and Research Winery. The course includes classroom instruction and hands-on, experiential learning. Students will use Canvas, UC Davis CPE’s learning management system, to complete course assignments in addition to their practical, hands-on work. Students must be at least 21 years old to attend.