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Highland Community College began offering Associate of Science and Technical Certificate programs available in both Viticulture and Enology in Fall 2010. Students are encouraged to enroll in face to face courses taught at the HCC-Wamego Campus, generally meeting one Saturday per month. If class schedules do not work for students then they have the opportunity to enroll in online courses through the Viticulture and Enology Science and Technology Alliance (VESTA) program. VESTA allows students in Kansas to take viticulture and enology classes online from colleges and universities across the US while paying in-state tuition rates. The classes transfer fluidly between the VESTA partners, and they all apply toward the degree and certificate programs. For more information, contact HCC V&E Program Director, Scott Kohl.
Please scroll down to see information about HCC wines.
In Spring 2021, Ms. Nicole Clark joined HCC. A native of Kansas, Nicole spent the previous eight years working in the winery inidustry in Sonoma County, California. Ms. Candice Fitch-Deitz joined HCC in 2018. Formerly a member of the VESTA team in Illinois, Candice was most recently an Horticulture agent with KSU-Research and Extension in western Kansas. Mr. Scott Kohl has been the administrator and director of the HCC Viticulture and Enology program since its inception in 2008. While Mr. Kohl, Ms. Fitch-Deitz, and Ms. Clark have varying ranges of duties, they boast over 35 years of combined industry experience, and the three collaborate in all areas of the HCC V&E Program.
HCC has four vineyards, three of which are in and around the Wamego area: HCC Oregon Trail Vineyard (850 vines) was planted in Spring 2009 The first harvest was in 2012. The HCC Research Vineyard (528 vines, 44 varieties) was planted in Spring 2013. In Fall 2013, HCC was awarded a National Science Foundation - Advanced Technology Education project grant. The grant funded an expansion of HCC's vineyards as well as equipment purchases to teach students about commercial and mechanized scale vineyard management. Most of the vineyard expansion is at HCC Military Trail Vineyard, located just across US HWY 24 from the HCC-Wamego Center, and a small portion of the expansion is directly south of the Research Vineyard. Finally, HCC has planted vines on the Klinefelter Farm in Brown County near Hiawatha, KS. Here's a link to the HCC Klinefelter Farm. All total, HCC now has just over 5200 vines in the four vineyards. Here is a short video demonstrating the vine planter HCC used in the 2014 to plant the HCC Military trail Vineyard.
While HCC and VESTA both encourage students to complete degree and/or certificate programs, we recognize that entrepreneurial minded students want a head start on opening their own business. While the full program of courses contains a wealth of knowledge, we welcome the student interested in just one or two courses prior to planting vines or making wine.
We look forward to serving the Kansas grape and wine industry through our continued partnerships with Kansas State University Research and Extension, Kansas Department of Agriculture, and VESTA.
Read about the most recent happenings at HCC Viticulture and Enology on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/hccve.
See below for the list of courses and workshops offered this year.
Highland Community College Winery
Update!!
HCC Winery has moved! We also changed names, ownership, and phone numbers. We're now Highland Vineyards and Winery, LLC. We've moved down the street to 503 Miller Drive, still in Wamego, KS. Our winery is a part of the 456 Wineries business incubator. The tasting room at 456 Wineries opened October 5th, 2019. We have some of the same wines as always along with some additional wines for our loyal customers to try. We're excited about this new avenue to teach students and industry enthusiasts about Kansas grapes, Kansas wine, and industry involvement. You can find us on Facebook as well as our website. Both sites have our calendar of events. Go Scotties!!
One last nugget from the old winery. In January 2014, Highland won Best in Show for wines entered at the Kansas grape and wine conference. Highland Vineyards and Winery has that same wine and others. Cheers!!
|
Enology Links |
Viticulture Links |
HCC V&E Course Schedule
Fall 2022
|
Course |
Dates and Times |
Instructor |
|---|---|---|
|
VIN215 Summer/Fall Vit Tech. |
(Sat, 9a-5p); 8/6, 8/20, 9/3, 9/17 |
Candice Fitch-Deitz |
|
VIN212 Winter Viticulture Tech. |
(Sat, 9a-5p); 10/1, 10/15, 11/12, 12/10 |
Candice Fitch-Deitz |
|
ENO116 Intro to Enology |
(Sat, 9a-6p); 8/6, 8/13, 8/27, 9/10, 9/24 |
Nicole Clark |
|
ENO210 Wine Microorganisms |
(Sat, 9a-5p); 10/8, 10/22, 11/12, 11/19 |
Nicole Clark |
Spring 2022
|
Course |
Dates and Times |
Instructor |
|---|---|---|
| VIN111 Intro to Viticulture | (Sat 9a - 6p); 3/5, 3/26, 4/9, 5/7, 5/14 |
Candice Fitch-Deitz |
| VIN211 Integrated Pest Mgt | (Sat 9a - 5p); 1/8, 1/22, 2/5, 2/19 |
Candice Fitch-Deitz |
| ENO116 Intro to Enology | (Sat 9a-6p); 1/8, 1/22, 2/5, 2/12, 2/19 |
Nicole Clark |
| ENO266 Sensory Analysis | (Sat 9a - 6p); 3/12, 3/26, 4/9, 4/23, 5/7 |
Nicole Clark |
2022 WORKSHOP SCHEDULE
| Sat, Mar 19 | Pruning Workshop w/ KGGWA, Wamego, KS | 9am | $20 |
| Tue, May 24 | Marketing + Barrel Mgt Workshops, Wamego, KS | 9am | $20 |
| Tue, June 7 | Grafting Workshop, Wamego, KS | TBA | $20 |
| Tue, July 19 | Field Day + Sensory Workshop, Hartford KS | 9am | $20 |
For all workshops, RSVP to skohl@highlandcc.edu or call 785-456-WINE (9463)
External Links
456-Wineries Business Incubator
Viticulture and Enology Science Technology Alliance (VESTA)
Kansas Grape Growers and Winemakers Association (KGGWA)
Kansas Viticulture and Farm Winery Association (KVFWA)
US Treasury – Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB)
KS Department of Revenue – Alcoholic Beverage Control (KS ABC)
KS Department of Agriculture - Sensitive Crop Map and Registry
KS Department of Agriculture - Sensitive Crop Signs available for purchase
Highland V&E Program Services
- Consultation for vineyards, wineries, and perspective members of the industry
- Industry workshops throughout the year
- New winery incubator, 456-Wineries is now open!!
