Orange County Wine Society funds scholarships for eight California colleges and universities, including the University of California Davis.
UC Davis has a dedicated Department of Viticulture and Enology that was established back in 1880 by the California Legislature to help the developing California wine industry and is considered one of the top programs in the country. In 2011, UC Davis opened a facility for making wine, beer and processed foods with sustainability and the environment in mind.
The campus hosts a four-acre vineyard next to the Robert Mondavi Institute. The department typically graduates about 20 undergraduate students in viticulture and enology per year. UC Davis also offers a Master of Science degree.
The Viticulture & Enology Graduate Group (VENGG) provides opportunities where students can conduct research on current issues in the wine industry through independent research and internships. This program graduates five to 10 students per year. The department also offer a Wine Executive Program that teaches the fundamentals of winemaking and management skills necessary to be successful in the challenging wine business world.
Next month we will be highlighting another of the colleges/universities supported by the OCWS Scholarship Fund. Just a friendly reminder there is always time to donate to the OCWS Scholarship Fund for 2024. There are two ways to donate:
- Mail a check – Make your check out to OCWS and mail it to the OCWS office at OCWS, P.O. Box 11059, Costa Mesa, CA 92627 Attn: Scholarship Fund. A donation letter will be sent to you.
- Donate Online – Log on to your account at OCWS.org and go to the scholarship donation page: OCWS.org/product/scholarship-donations/. You can make your donation online and print a receipt for tax purposes at the same time.
—Damian Christian, Scholarship Chair