Cal Poly Pomona's wine hits shelves

For the past seven years, Cal Poly Pomona students and faculty have cared for Zinfandel grapes on campus.

Last week, they watched as the university's first private-label wine, Horsehill Vineyards, was bottled at a winery in Temecula.

"This harvest is the first harvest the grapes were mature enough for winemaking," said Lisa McPheron, director of communications and external relations for the Collins College of Hospitality Management.

The university's College of Agriculture and the Collins College made the wine after receiving cuttings from winemaker Don Galleano and a winery that was once at Haven Avenue and Foothill Boulevard.

The cuttings have a long history in the area and some are estimated to be nearly 100 years old.

The Zinfandel cuttings were potted in the university's nursery.

In 2004, they were planted at two locations on campus - an area down the hill from the Collins College and another spot between the regenerative studies and the school's farm store, McPheron said.

The College of Agriculture cultivated and harvested the grapes, plowed the fields, and tended to the cuttings.

The Collins College worked with local wineries to make the wine. The South Coast Winery in Temecula will oversee the crushing, fermentation and bottling of the Zinfandel ros wine, McPheron said.

The wine goes on sale Tuesday - just in time for the holidays. At $14 a bottle, it is only available for purchase at the university's Restaurant at Kellogg Ranch.
Proceeds from sales of the wine will support future grape harvests and a vegetable garden project spearheaded by the two colleges, according to a university news release.

Students at Cal Poly Pomona who were never involved in the production process have expressed interest in their school's wine.

"It's bottled off-site, but they grow the grapes here on campus," McPheron said. "It's Cal Poly Pomona wine, and there's a certain pride to that