UCD Alumni Reunion Draws 400 to Tour RMI, New Vineyard

Nearly 400 alumni of the UC Davis Department of Viticulture and Enology returned to campus May 15 as part of a reunion and celebration to tour the department's new teaching and research facilities at the Robert Mondavi Institute (RMI) and the newly planted teaching vineyard, and to receive department updates and future plans from faculty. Alumni working in the wine industry came from throughout the U.S., and from Canada and South America. Attendees represented graduating classes from the 1960s to as recently as 2008. Throughout the day, screens in several locations displayed some of the 350 photos of alumni collected to date by department outreach specialist Kay Bogart, who was instrumental in planning this first ever event.

Department chair Andy Waterhouse greeted the crowd with, "Welcome home to UC Davis." and went on to explain, "Today's focus is on viewing our new facilities, but down the road they will enable changes and improvements in research and education that will not be as visible, but are the real reasons they were built."

The RMI includes three buildings totalling 130,000 sq. ft. that required three years of planning, three years of construction, and cost $73 million. Waterhouse recognized the initial vision and seed contribution of $25 million from the late Robert Mondavi, along with additional private contributions, and funding from the State of California. Faculty that played key roles in planning efforts were Jim Wolpert who was department chair when Mondavi announced the project donation, Professor David Block who represented the department in planning and design efforts, and Professor Roger Boulton and winery manager Chik Brenneman who have been key in planning and design for the new teaching winery.

Waterhouse said a recent survey indicated that alumni would like to be more involved, and he said the department is looking for volunteers to plan and lead an active alumni club. The alumni club would provide professional expertise, advice and support for internship programs, and could assist with contributions for scholarships.

Professor Linda Bisson discussed the future of extension and outreach programs, an area of importance to alumni and industry professionals, and the need for change in light of funding challenges and new technologies for expediting the transfer of information. The department is well-respected for its research, but accessing the results can be problematic for industry and the public. Bisson believes enology extension in the future will require: greater reliance on self-funding, expanded use of web-based media, focused and targeted programming, and enhanced communication. She discussed the need to move forward and the goal of creating a Viticulture and Enology Extension and Outreach Center at the RMI. Five main areas have been identified for program development: vineyard and winery sustainability, flavor, emerging technologies, style management, and beneficial practices. She asked alumni to complete a form to rank these areas in terms of their level of interest and importance.

A ceremonial groundbreaking for the new 12,500 sq. ft. teaching and research winery was staged with a lineup of distinguished department alumni that included first female graduate MaryAnn Graf, along with alumni Zelma Long, Judy Matulich-Weitz, emeritus professors Vernon Singleton and Ralph Kunkee, and current faculty Waterhouse, Boulton, Block, and Brenneman. Actual winery construction will begin this summer, and completion is expected in time for the 2010 crush. Professor Boulton described innovative and sustainable features being incorporated into design and construction that will make it the world's first platinum level certified winery under the US Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. Features include PV solar power, rainwater capture, efficient water use and reuse, and onsite carbon capture and sequestering. The main fermentation area will have 14 larger (2000 L) research fermenters, and 152 smaller scale research fermenters, each with CO2 capture and all fully automated for temperature control and pumpovers. Other features include a long-term barrel storage room, a research bottle storage room for up to 25,000 bottles, a winery lab, and classroom.

New Vineyard

Tours of the new vineyard, with seven distinct blocks, were led by extension viticulturist Jim Wolpert and teaching winery manager/winemaker Chik Brenneman. The highly-visible 13.5 acre vineyard is between Interstate 80 and the main road that is the south entrance gateway to campus. Irrigation systems and trellising for several blocks were installed this past winter, and newly planted rootstocks, donated by Sunridge Nurseries, went into the ground in April. Once the rootstocks are established, variety scion material will be grafted onto the rootstocks, and the vineyard and winery will have a wider range of varieties to work with than previously. Brenneman said, "We're making sure we bring in clean material, and it's important we have a viable vineyard to complement the winery and the teaching program."

Previously, students had to carpool two miles to the teaching vineyard on the west side of campus for classes in the field, and grapes had to be trucked from these vineyards into the middle of campus to the winery. At the new site, students can literally step outside the classroom for fieldwork, or walk out the winery door to harvest grapes.

High fertility at this site was a concern, as it has deep soils and was planted to alfalfa for the past decade. The primary rootstock planted was 420A that is suited to fertile soils. However, an old vine California Heritage Block, with Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Alicante Bouschet, and Barbera will be on St George rootstock and be head-trained and spur pruned. Row spacing is 11-feet and 12-feet due to fertility, and to allow enough space for students to stand in the rows during field classes. The vineyard will initially be farmed sustainably, or as Wolpert described it, "OPR--organic plus Roundup."

Since students do not begin fall classes until late September, and with a warm climate in Davis, the teaching winery has always faced the challenge of needing later ripening varieties, or manipulating the vineyard to delay ripening, in order for students to be able to work with lots beginning at harvest. With more plant material and varieties now available, the new vineyard will include later ripening white varieties such as Verdelho, Vermentino and Torrontes. Later ripening red varieties will include Syrah, Grenache, Barbera, Petite Sirah, and some Portuguese varieties, which also do better in the Davis climate.

A variety demonstration block will have from 250 to 300 varieties arranged by country/region of origin.
An ampellography block for Professor Andy Walker's class will be used by students to learn varieties by leaf and vine appearance with 75 different varieties planted. A trellis demonstration block includes vertical shoot position (VSP), California sprawl, Smart-Dyson, and Scott Henry trellis sytems. Much of the production vineyard for the winery will be on a modified sprawl that is better suited to the Davis climate.