Rooted in Passion: Ann Kane’s Journey from Service to the Vineyard

Ann Kane retired from a successful career in Air Force intelligence after 24 years of service. Without skipping a beat, she subsequently founded a small government contracting firm, which she operated for more than 16 years. But the burnout she felt from the daily corporate grind left her with a longing to reconnect with her artistic side. 

“Winemaking became my muse,” she said. 

Her hobby quickly grew into a passion. Embracing her potential to go beyond small-batch winemaking in her garage, she turned to UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education’s Winemaking Certificate Program for a scientific foundation. Today, Ann is gearing up to open her own winery—Highland Farms Winery, a Georgia-certified farm winery—proving that it’s never too late to invest in your passion. 

An Early Spark that Never Faded 

One of Ann’s earliest memories is her fascination with a row of Concord grapes that grew on her grandparents’ farm in West Virginia. 

“I watched the grapes intently as the growing season progressed, eagerly waiting to eat them,” she said. “Harvest and making juice and jelly with my grandmother were by far the best. Little did I know how far that fascination would take me.” 

As a young adult, she attended the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California to study Slavic languages for her military work. It was there, in this coastal winemaking region, that she discovered wine. 

“I became interested in learning about wine, mostly to be knowledgeable enough to buy thoughtful wine gifts,” she said 

After completing her training, she was stationed in Germany between the Mosel and Rhein rivers where her curiosity in wine grew. Traveling throughout the wine regions of Europe, she immersed herself in wine culture, attending festivals, tastings and hands-on harvests in the Mosel River Valley. 

“My interest in wine and winemaking increased significantly,” she said. “But I never considered that I could make wine until I attended an amateur winemaking class at a small local winery—from there, a new passion was born.” 

Planting New Roots and a New Dream 

After retiring from the military, she transitioned to government contracting. Despite her success, winemaking began to emerge as her creative outlet and a potential career path. 

“I started dreaming of planting a vineyard and opening a winery,” she said. “I threw myself into learning everything I could about establishing a vineyard.” 

Ann built a support network of Georgian winemakers and specialists to help guide her in this new endeavor and dedicated herself to learning about viticulture and varietals that could thrive in the harsh Southeastern climate. Finally, with the help of family and friends, she planted over 2,200 grape vines—four different hybrid varietals—on her Georgia property during the early weeks of COVID-19. It was then that she realized she needed a formal education in winemaking to manage large-scale wine production. 

“After getting all the vines in the ground, the reality of how much wine this small vineyard could potentially produce made me anxious,” she said. “That’s when I started researching winemaking programs that could enrich my knowledge and work within my busy schedule.” 

A Scientific Foundation for a Creative Pursuit 

Ann discovered the online Winemaking Certificate Program at UC Davis CPE, which offered the flexibility to learn around her busy schedule, and used her veterans education benefits to enroll. 

Initially, she had her doubts and was intimidated by the chemistry requirement. It had been years since she was in school, and chemistry wasn’t her best subject. But UC Davis CPE’s Basic Chemistry class—program’s prerequisite—eased her concerns. 

“Instructor Grady Wann was so supportive of each of us,” she said. “He brought the chemistry lessons to life with real-world problems and solutions. He made us believe in our own abilities to make it through the program and excel at winemaking.” 

Throughout the program, Ann said that each course sparked a new excitement for winemaking. She enjoyed learning new processes and technologies, grape varietals and wine regions around the world. She was particularly impressed with the curriculum’s focus on real-world applications. 

“The entire program was curated toward just the information we need as a winemaker. None of the lessons were unnecessary or excessive,” she said. “I learned so much from each course, instructor and my fellow students, and I’m using all this information almost every day that I’m working in the vineyard and winery.” 

Ann appreciated the problem-solving scenarios in the Wine Production course, which forced her to think outside the box. Her biggest takeaway was how the program shifted her from trial-and-error winemaking to informed decision-making. 

“This program has helped me become more confident in the choices I make—from pruning the vines, harvesting, processing, fermenting, aging, to even filtering and bottling,” she said. “Even though I had been making wine for a few years prior to starting the program, I wasn’t knowledgeable enough in the chemistry of winemaking—many times putting additives in my wine without fully understanding the effect it would have. I’m not concerned about that anymore. I feel confident that I can properly analyze the issue and dial in the chemistry to work toward the remedy.” 

Turning Passion into Profession

UC Davis CPE’s online Winemaking Certificate Program helped turn Ann’s childhood fascination into a professional pursuit, and she now has a planned transition to full-time winemaking. 

“If you’re considering enrolling in this program, do it,” she said. “I wish I knew about this program when I retired from the military—I would have enrolled then and started my winemaking career much sooner.”