California State Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo has a wine and viticulture program in their College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences. This program is the largest in the nation and combines the study of cultivating wine grapes with the study of wines, winemaking and the wine business.
The campus has a 14-acre vineyard for students to practice successful strategies needed to understand all aspects of winemaking in the fertile California coastal region. Students also learn about beverage compliance and understanding the many complex rules and regulations of the industry.
Many of Cal Poly’s students have gone on to work as winery founders and owners, viticulturists, enologists, production assistants and cellar workers, as well as, many other areas of management and marketing associates.
The OCWS support of the Cal Poly Program is greatly appreciated and in 2023 the OCWS contributed $5100 to their general scholarship fund in the wine and viticulture program.
Each month we will be highlighting one of the colleges or universities supported by the OCWS scholarship fund.
Just a friendly reminder there is always time to make a donation to the OCWS Scholarship Fund for 2024. There are two ways to donate:
1. Mail a check – Complete your check using the same instructions as above, 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.
2. 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 J. Christian, OCWS Scholarship Chair