Overcast and cold — the ideal atmosphere for staying in and drinking wine. Despite being called “cold rooms,” attendees of the new Viticulture facility’s ribbon cutting were anxious to get inside. To see wine stored in cellars at ten degrees colder than the external temperature, which was 64.
On Nov. 19, the ribbon was officially cut, opening the new Viticulture and Winery Technology Facility at Las Positas College. It’s located in buildings 3600 and 3700. The facility was made possible by an $8.6 million investment from Measure A. In 2016, the bond measure for LPC and Chabot passed with 65% voter approval.
David Everett, coordinator of the Viticulture and Winery Technology program, has been involved with planning the new facilities for twenty years. From “basically a concept of a plan,” he said, until its fruition.
Over 100 people attended the ribbon-cutting event. They explored and learned about the new cold rooms and winery technology, simultaneously tasting the work of previous harvests.
John Marchand, the mayor of Livermore, was among the observers. He came equipped with a quote from Galileo. According to Marchand, the seventeenth-century polymath said “wine is sunlight, held together by water.”
Marchand expressed admiration for the winemaking process, saying, “It’s a combination of luck, chemistry, science, agriculture and magic. And all that comes together in your glass.”
Every wine tasted was the product of LPC’s program, each coming with its own pairing to enhance the flavor. A bold seasonal red went with a mushroom and brie stuffed croissant, a delicate white paired with ceviche, and a sweet dessert wine accompanied hibiscus cookies.
A who’s who of Livermore officials and giants of Livermore wine were present, and conversation and excitement around the new buildings were palpable. Marchand said the opening of the new facility was “a long time coming,” since “Livermore is the birthplace of the California wine industry.”
Concannon and Wente Vineyards in Livermore — which are still active today — were, respectively, the original homes to California Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. With new viticulture and winery installments, LPC students have access to the same technology used by the big name, historic wineries. Wente and Concannon.
From the first day on the job, viticulture students from the LPC program will be working with equipment hands-on. This increase in technology gives students a “springboard into the industry” with a “seamless transition,” according to Meghan Ramsey, an alum of the viticulture program and current vintner at JMC Cellars and Omega Road in Livermore.
Ramsey broke down the winemaking process into three stages. First is “growing the grapes, which is viticulture,” she said. “You have making wine, which is enology, and then you have selling wine, which is hospitality.” Now, LPC has state-of-the-art facilities to teach students about all three phases.
POPPIN’ BOTTLES: LPC President Dr. Dyrell Foster, far right, cuts the ribbon with the Las Positas College Board of Trustees to the new wine facility and classroom. (Photo courtesy of Ian Kapsalis/Special To The Express)
The new cellar includes cold rooms to keep wine at consistent temperatures. Ramsey said this building is particularly crucial for the process.
“We aren’t going to have fluctuations in temperature,” Ramsey said. “We aren’t going to lose as much wine to evaporation,” she said. Las Positas students will be able to produce “more consistent wine, better wine,” and all within a “better learning environment” to do so.
Current student of LPC and the program, Erik Caufield echoed some of Ramsey’s thoughts. “It is (a) program built by the lab to train and teach workers the skills that they need.”
An understanding of how beneficial this facility will be was clear among the onlookers. Caufield said that with the use of the improved facilities and cold rooms, “it’s like going from deep in a cellar underground” to now “you can exactly control how your fermentation is going.”
Within the world of wine, Napa Valley is seen as a mecca. The new technology on LPC’s campus is similar if not the same as what a facility in Napa would have. For “future employers looking for an ideal candidate” Caufield believes they may not need to look any further than right here in their own backyard.
Marchand credited David Everrett, faculty and program coordinator, for doing the work to “bring this to fruition.” The cutting of the ribbon marked the start of a “wonderful partnership between the college and our wine growing community” as well as the continuation of Livermore’s place in the California wine industry, Marchand said.
The opening of LPC’s newest building only adds to the excellence Livermore wine has brought to the wider industry, Marchand said. He believes that Las Positas continues to “provide excellence for the region” and that is why “they fit right here in Livermore.”
TOP PHOTO: Two participants of the ribbon-cutting ceremony talk about and taste wine produced by LPC’s own viticulture and winery program. Samples of the wine were given out to any interested guests. (Photo courtesy of Ian Kapsalis/Special To The Express)
Ian Kapsalis is a guest writer for The Express. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @IanKappy.
