The Santa Maria campus of Allan Hancock College is offering classes in winemaking, tasting, and a wide variety of ag-related wine curriculum this fall.
The winemaking classes will be held in the school's new Industrial Technology Complex with its state-of-the-art winemaking facility. It has more than 35,000 square feet of lab space. There will also be an online-only version of the class offered.
Professor Alfredo Koch says the expanded wine curriculum is attractive to students looking to continue a degree at Cal Poly, Fresno State, or U.C.Davis.
"It works really well for them because they can take here all the basic courses, they can stay in this community which is usually less expensive each year for them, some maybe even have internships or work at the same time," said Koch.
Students in the winemaking class will make several varieties including red, white, rosé, and sparkling using grapes grown by Hancock.
A recently passed law in California will allow underage students to taste the wines they're creating.
Classes start August 18 and as of Tuesday evening there is still limited space available, according to the college.