Spring Quarter Tour and Lunch

Our Spring Quarter Program was held on April 21, 2022, at the JUSTIN and J. LOHR Center for Wine and Viticulture, Building 156, Mt. Bishop Road, Cal Poly Campus.

The program began  at 11 am with a tour of the new JUSTIN and J. LOHR Center for Wine and Viticulture, led by Andy Thulin, dean of the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences; Benoit Lecat, Wine and Viticulture department head; and Jim Shumate, winery manager. The tour included the viticulture lab, fermentation hall, enology lab and research analysis lab, barrel rooms, sensory lab, and the Dean's Conference Room.

The JUSTIN and J. LOHR Center for Wine and Viticulture is the largest completely donor-funded capital project in the history of the CSU and will enhance the Wine and Viticulture program at Cal Poly for years to come. The complex includes a state-of-the-art 5,000-case bonded winery complete with a fermentation hall, bottling room, barrel rooms and research labs. The adjacent E. & J. Gallo Winery & Family Building includes viticulture, enology and sensory labs, shared offices for faculty and students and an expansive conference hall.

Following the tour, participants enjoyed lunch together provided by the Agricultural Engineering Society (AES) student BBQ group, and tasted two student-made wines--one a blend of 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot; the other a blend of 61% Petit Verdot and 39% Petite Sirah.