TRAVERSE CITY -- The next class of grapes will appear on vines in a few months, and educational opportunities are cropping up for would-be regional grape-growing and winemaking experts.
Northwestern Michigan College will partner with Michigan State University and Missouri State University to offer the area's first viticulture certificate. The program offers an option to complete an associate's degree and will begin this summer.
Viticulture is the science, production and study of grapes in vineyards and the program is designed to pour trained workers into the region's vineyards.
"Right now, we have no channel of people coming in who know about cool climate viticulture," said Mark Johnson, winemaker at Chateau Chantal on Old Mission Peninsula.
Viticulture courses will provide much-needed educational support to the region's grape-growing and winemaking industries. Johnson is anxious for the first wave of interns in the grape fields.
"We need trained people. A lot of the wineries here ... are people who 30 years ago thought about getting into the wine business and now are looking to retire," he said.
New and properly trained workers are in short supply, so the program could help fill a void in one of the area's major agricultural sectors, Johnson said.
Students will enroll through Michigan State's office at NMC's University Center and classes will be offered online in Traverse City. Students will complete general education classes at NMC and internships at local vineyards.
Online courses were developed through the Viticulture and Enology Science and Technology Alliance program at Missouri State University.
Marguerite Cotto, NMC vice president, said she hopes the viticulture program will become as key to the local wine industry as the college's nursing program is to area health care delivery. It answers an "urgent call from area employers" for qualified workers, she said.
"It serves the needs of the industry right now and solidifies the industry in this region," Johnson said.
Northwestern Michigan's grape and wine industry is thriving, with 72 wineries in the state, nearly half of them in Leelanau and Grand Traverse counties, said Linda Jones, executive director of the Michigan Grape and Wine Industry Council.
NMC's new academic program will only bolster that presence through specialized training, she said.
"The council has been pushing to put this in place for two years," Jones said.
Visit www.nmc.edu/plant for more information.
