New viticulture, wine degree at FLCC gets final approval

Finger Lakes Community College this week celebrated the state Education Department's approval of its new degree in viticulture and wine technology.

On Monday, students a class at Finger Lakes Community College's Geneva Campus Center took a few minutes to celebrate with college officials, teachers and others, including Shannon Brock, wine coordinator for the New York Wine and Culinary Center.

The state Education Department’s approval was the final step in a two-year process to develop and certify the degree program, the only one of its kind at a Northeastern community college. The State University of New York approved the degree earlier this year.

The first graduates will get their applied science associate's degrees in viticulture and wine technology in May 2011. FLCC faculty and staff consulted with potential employers and developed the program to meet the requirements for transfer to Cornell University’s viticulture program, according to a news release from the college. The program balances classes in chemistry and botany with practical skills such as occupational Spanish and pesticide application.

“The people who owned the wineries and vineyards wanted us to create a two-year degree program that would serve their needs, so they would have employees who were well-rounded,” Jana Lamboy, assistant professor of ornamental horticulture , said in the news release. “Besides vocational training, employers wanted the new workers to be well-spoken, to have computer skills and to understand chemistry.”

Lamboy is the lead viticulture faculty member and teaches with Justin Scheiner, a doctoral candidate at Cornell University. The first class, Introduction to Wines and Vines, began in September with 25 students.

“As the wine industry grows and increasingly defines the Finger Lakes region, we are ready to support it with skilled workers,” college President Barbara Risser said.

Finger Lakes Community College also partnered with Cornell University faculty, Cornell Cooperative Extension, the New York Wine & Culinary Center in Canandaigua, Constellation Brands Inc. in Victor and the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, which houses the largest viticulture library east of the Rocky Mountains and the Plant Genetics Resource Unit of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, according to the news release.

Members of the advisory board that helped design the degree include Scott Osborn, co-owner of Fox Run Vineyards; John and Ann Martini, co-owners of Anthony Road Winery; Sarah Axelrod, who works in community affairs for Constellation Brands Inc.; owner Carl Fribolin and president and wine maker Derek Wilber of White Springs Winery; Executive Director Alexa Gifford and Shannon Brock of the New York Wine and Culinary Center; and David Peterson of Swedish Hill Winery.

Also on the board were Hans Walter-Petersen, area extension viticulture specialist for Cornell Cooperative Extension of Yates County; Peter Cousins, geneticist for Grape Genetics Research, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cornell University/New York State Agricultural Experiment Station; and Justine Vanden Heuvel, assistant professor of viticulture and enology at Cornell University.