Breaking Ground: The Center for Wine and Viticulture
Cal Poly celebrated the groundbreaking of the new Center for Wine and Viticulture on May 4, commencing construction of a leading-edge facility that will provide space for academia, industry and the community to come together to learn, connect and collaborate.
The private event was attended by key donors and supporters, as well as Cal Poly leadership, faculty, staff and students. A public event will be held once construction is complete. The project is anticipated to open in fall 2019.
The Center for Wine and Viticulture is a public-private partnership involving significant private funding that will enhance the Wine and Viticulture program at Cal Poly for years to come. The fundraising campaign for Cal Poly’s Center for Wine and Viticulture has spanned multiple years and has raised more than $14 million to date.
“We would not be where we are today, breaking ground on a project that will benefit generations of future winemakers and vintners, without a legion of community support,” Dean Andrew Thulin said. “This is an affirmation that Cal Poly graduates are a tremendous asset to the industry and I look forward to a long and prosperous partnership.”
Cal Poly’s Wine and Viticulture program, the largest of its kind in the U.S., provides a comprehensive education that focuses on the three major elements of the wine industry: viticulture, enology and wine business.
The program currently has a 14-acre teaching and production vineyard and small pilot winery where students gain hands-on experience in all aspects of the industry, from vineyard cultivation and management to winemaking, marketing and distribution.
The Center for Wine and Viticulture will include both a 15,600-square-foot winery and a 12,000-square-foot E. & J. Gallo Winery & Family Building. The buildings will include crush, fermentation, barrel, sensory, bottling, enology and viticulture rooms, as well as teaching and research labs, a bonded winery, offices, and community and industry meeting spaces.
Professional partners in the project include TLCD Architecture as the executive architects, Von Raesfeld & Associates as the winery consulting architects, and JW Design & Construction as the contractor.
Visit the Cultivate Summer 2018 Page to read more stories.