Viticulture, Enology & Tasting Room Management

PVCC offers a series of courses in Viticulture (grape growing), Enology (wine making) and Tasting Room Management. Taught by Virginia wine industry professionals, courses combine in-class instruction with hands-on learning in local vineyards and wineries. Students range from current owners and operators looking to sharpen their skills, to novices looking to get involved in Virginia's growing wine industry. A student can begin taking courses any time throughout the year. Courses can be completed in any order.
Upcoming Courses
Class Title | Date | Days | Times | Instructor | Location | Tuition | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dormant Pruning | Feb. 22 | Sa | 9 a.m - 5. p.m | Ducard | Ducard Vineyards | $159 | Bring your pruning shears and learn why and how to prune grapevines through lecture and hands-on experience. |
Introduction to Viticulture | December 7, (2024) | S | 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. | Southwest Mountains Vineyards | $119 (Lunch included) | ||
Legal Issues in the Wine Industry | TBD | ||||||
Soil Prep and Planting | Apr. 12 | Sa | 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. | Asberger | M811 | $159 | Learn how to prepare soils for growing and planting wine grapes in Virginia. Gain hands-on experience planting vines in a local vineyard. Classroom session in morning. After lunch we will travel to a local vineyard to plant vines. |
Successful Wine Club Management | Mar. 26 | W | 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. | Aquino | TBD | $99 | Wine clubs can be a strong profit center for your winery. In this class, we'll discuss strategies on how to attract and retain wine club members, ways to promote and sell wine club memberships, how to add value to your wine club, and how to differentiate yourself from other wine clubs among other related topics. |
Tasting Room Management | Feb. 19 | W | 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. | Aquino | TBD | $159 | Want to make your tasting room more memorable and profitable? Learn tasting room staffing and training, events management and tips, wine tasting strategies, tours, social media as well as other ideas to increase business. |
The Business of Wine | TBD | ||||||
Vineyard Management I | Feb. 8 | May 31 | 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. | Hayman | Hazy Mountain Vineyards | $349 | Be responsible for managing and maintaining an assigned section of a working vineyard during the growing season. Learn the techniques for caring for healthy vines and the crucial decisions in vineyard management to meet your business objectives. |
Vineyard Site Selection | May 17 | Sa | 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. | Asberger | M811 | $159 | Find the ideal location for your vineyard - the most important and fundamental decision in the process of wine grape growing! This class includes the fundamentals of vineyard design and layout. Course starts at PVCC and includes visits to local vineyards. |
Vineyard Spraying | Jun. 28 | Sa | 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. | Hayman | Hazy Mountain Vineyards | $159 | In this class we will discuss fungicides, pesticides and herbicides and how their applications can benefit or cause damage to a vineyard if not properly applied. We will cover the basics of why a rotational spray program is critical and how to practically and safely apply these substances. Additional topics include herbicide ground sprays, tank mixing, tractor calibration, and spray unit and foliar nutrient applications. |
Wine Marketing | Mar. 8 | Sa | 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. | Trellis Group | Trellis Group | $159 | People in the wine business say that anyone can make wine, but can they sell it? Learn cutting-edge strategies for marketing wine. Everything from labels to romancing the wine is covered in this required enology class. Enhanced by talks from area wine professionals, you will learn how to design a marketing strategy. |
Wine Tasting & Analysis | TBD |
*Part of the Viticulture course series
^Part of the Enology course series
#Part of the Tasting Room Management course series
Day Abbreviations
M=Monday, T=Tuesday, W=Wednesday, Th=Thursday, F=Friday, S=Saturday, Su=Sunday
Course Locations/ Abbreviations
- Cunningham = Cunningham Creek Winery, 3304 Ruritan Creek Road, Palmyra, VA 22963
- Decipher = Decipher Brewing, 1740 Broadway Street, Charlottesville, VA 22902
- DuCard = Ducard Vineyards, 40 Gibson Hollow Lane, Etlan, VA 22719
- Eastwood = Eastwood Farm & Winery, 2531 Scottsville Rd, Charlottesville, VA 22902
- King Family = King Family Vineyards, 6550 Roseland Farm, Crozet, VA 22932
- Main = PVCC Main Campus, 501 College Drive, Charlottesville, VA 22902
- Valley Road = Valley Road Vineyards, 9264 Critzer Shop Rd, Afton, VA 22920
Class dates, location and tuition subject to change.