N.C. School Breaks Ground on V&E Center

Surry Community College plans vineyard, bonded winery and ambitious curriculum

 
Dignitaries clasp shovels to break ground on the Shelton-Badgett North Carolina Center for Viticulture and Enology earlier this month at the Dobson, N.C., campus of Surry Community College.

Dobson, N.C. -- Officials on May 1 broke ground for the Shelton-Badgett North Carolina Center for Viticulture and Enology at Surry Community College. The $5 million complex is named for the family of Charlie and Ed Shelton, owners of Shelton Vineyards in Dobson. Construction should be finished before harvest in 2010, school officials said.

When completed, the center will house a bonded winery, classrooms for a variety of viticulture and enology curricula and continuing-education courses, instructor offices, a resource library and conference room, a teaching laboratory, climate-controlled wine storage and a 4,000-sqare-foot special events hall. A five-acre vineyard adjacent to the new center allows students to gain hands-on experience in viticulture. School officials said the commercially bonded, state-of-the-art winery will further students' practical education in enology. Lead instructors for the new complex are Gill Giese (viticulture) and Molly Kelly (enology); each is assisted by a technician.

Surry Community College currently has 64 students enrolled in its viticulture and enology programs. The student population is diverse, with students ranging in age from 83 to 20. Most of the students are interested in changing jobs, while others already hold college degrees and are considering second careers in the grape and wine industry.

Located in the heart of the Yadkin Valley AVA, the Shelton-Badgett North Carolina Center for Viticulture and Enology is intended to serve the grape and wine industry not only in North Carolina, but also in the mid-Atlantic region and the Southeast.

Surry has a co-op program where students work for a semester at a commercial vineyard or winery and receive college credit. Students may choose an 18-credit-hour certificate program, a 42-credit-hour program involving two semesters and one summer, or an associate degree program taking two years and one summer.

The winery produces between 400 and 500 cases annually and is licensed to market to stores and restaurants as well as to sell at festivals and other special events. It also holds a wholesaler's permit. A student-produced Surry Cellars 2007 Red Dirt Rosé won a double-gold medal at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition earlier this year.