By Angie Johnson-Schmit

The wine business in Arizona is booming. With over 20 vineyards, wineries, and tasting rooms in the area, the Verde Valley has become a wine destination that attracts both winemakers and wine enthusiasts. Located in the heart of the Verde Valley in Clarkdale, the Southwest Wine Center at Yavapai College has been at the forefront of supporting this growth industry through their degree and certificate programs since 2009.

Designed with the budding vineyard owner and winemaker in mind, the programs are a blend of online learning and in-person weekend-long labs, or “Grape Camps.”

Viticulture, or the study of growing grapes, is at the core of learning how to establish a vineyard. The viticulture program covers a range of topics, including water management, soils, and entomology. Enology, or the study of wine and winemaking, focuses on teaching students how to make wine. The enology program covers the entire process, from harvest to bottle, including coursework on chemistry, wines from across the world, and the sensory evaluation of wine.

Students have a voice at the 13-acre vineyard, and a say in which wines the class will make at the on-campus working winery. They take the grapes grown in the vineyard through the winemaking process – harvest, crush, press, fermentation, aging and bottling. They also have a tasting room where visitors can taste and buy wine made by students. Southwest Wine Center student-made wines have been winning medals in wine competitions since 2015. Their latest success story is their 2019 Viognier, which won Best in Class at the 2020 AZ Central Grand Wine Competition.

“The majority of our students come from in-state with about 50% of our students from the Phoenix area,” said Michael Pierce, Director of Viticulture and Enology. “We’ve also had out-of-state students from places like Colorado.” The average student age trends older, with most students in their mid-40s. “A lot of our students are older and know what they want to do,” said Pierce. The program has become increasingly popular, with over 100 highly motivated and engaged students currently enrolled.

Michael Pierce understands that motivation and dedication. He started making wine and craft beer while he was a student at Northern Arizona University. What began as a hobby quickly deepened into a more serious interest.

Pierce’s father caught the wine fever, too, and it became a shared passion. The pair enrolled in an online course together. After completing that program, Pierce found himself wanting more hands-on experience. He worked for Arizona winemakers to get the additional training he felt he needed before landing his current position at the Southwest Wine Center. Pierce’s father went on to start his own Arizona wine company, Bodega Pierce, with a vineyard in Willcox and a winery in Clarkdale.

Yavapai College is paying attention and seeks to equip their viticulture and enology students with the necessary skills to enter the industry and hit the ground running. They understand that while most vineyard owners and winemakers are passionate about wine, it is also serious business. To this end, the programs also teach students about sustainability, marketing, and business.

With over 20 wine tasting rooms and vineyards in the Verde Valley region, the need for a skilled local workforce is significant. The Southwest Wine Center is helping meet that need with a track record for excellence. Some graduates have gone on to run their own vineyards and wineries, while others have taken their knowledge and turned it to areas directly associated with the industry, including wine tourism.

The next time you visit a tasting room or winery in the Verde Valley, don’t forget to include Yavapai College’s viticulture and enology students in your toast. Odds are good that at least one of them played a role in getting that delicious wine from the vineyard to your lips.