You could almost imagine the aspiring winemakers studying. On April 9, a group of Napa Valley College (NVC) donors known as the President’s Circle Giving Society took part in a hard-hat tour of the Wine Spectator Wine Education Center. Funded by a $10 million dollar gift, the largest donation ever made by the Wine Spectator Scholarship Foundation and the largest gift NVC has ever received, the center will offer hundreds of students the chance to pursue a career in wine.
“We are going to be using all of these learning spaces to bring wine to life,” said professor Paul Gospodarczyk during the tour.
The groundbreaking ceremony was less than a year ago on May 17, 2024, and today the phase one building is nearing completion, expected to open for fall courses this year. The Wine Spectator Wine Education Center will more than double the Viticulture and Winery Technology (VWT) program's classroom and training space, with 10,000 square feet of state-of-the-art learning areas. It includes two flexible sensory classrooms with seating for up to 80 students at a time and a laboratory classroom with 28 lab stations. The sensory lab will become the largest classroom on campus.
Offering Wine Career Training in Napa Valley
Napa Valley College’s VWT program is one of the largest wine technology programs offered at a community college in the United States, enrolling more than 800 students each year. The program emphasizes a hands-on, practical education with a strong focus on career readiness, boasting a job placement rate of over 80 percent for graduates.
It attracts a wide range of students, including recent high school graduates, industry professionals seeking to update their skills, retirees and hobbyist winemakers. A notable portion of the student population is made up of first-generation college students, contributing to the program’s diverse community.
While celebrating the approaching completion of phase one, guests also stood on the future site of phase two–a Wine and Hospitality Training Center with a demonstration kitchen. The space will provide training in wine marketing, sales and hospitality, including winery food programs, wine club membership, tasting room management, tourism and the expanding field of winery chefs. A capital campaign is underway to secure funding for this phase.
One of the instructors, Paul Wagner, explained how the students bring in their real-life experiences to the classroom for productive conversations. “The students are here working in the industry. They never ask, ‘Is this on the test?’ They say, ‘This is how we do it at my winery.’”
NVC’s campus is located just south of downtown Napa, and includes a five-acre vineyard and commercial winery, the first bonded winery in the California community college system. Degrees are offered in viticulture, winemaking, wine marketing and sales. The Napa Valley College Foundation, founded in 1968, has provided assistance for students from individual scholarships and financial relief for students displaced following wildfires or in need of laptops. They turned their attention to the VWT program, which had standing room-only classrooms and needed an upgrade to keep up with the latest wine industry technology. “We are trying to connect the college to the world,” explained Enoch Shully, the NVC manager of hospitality, winery and culinary operations.
The Wine Spectator Scholarship Foundation was established to support education in the wine and culinary industries. To date, more than $30 million has been raised, supported by the generosity of vintners around the world, who donate wine for Wine Spectator’s Wine Experience, and the thousands of wine lovers who attend.
