Traverse City college offering wine, grape 'viticulture' certificate

TRAVERSE CITY, MI – Northwest Michigan’s thriving grape and wine industry will have a new pipeline to a trained workforce thanks to a partnership between Northwestern Michigan College (NMC), Michigan State University (MSU), and the online VESTA program at Missouri State University.

As soon as summer 2010, students may begin coursework toward a new viticulture certificate offered by MSU, with an option to complete an associate degree from NMC. Students will enroll through the MSU office at NMC’s University Center. All classes will be offered online or in Traverse City.

“We’re delighted to expand our partnership with Michigan State in order to serve the needs of the regional wine industry, which is an increasingly important player in our economy,” said Marguerite Cotto, vice president of Lifelong and Professional Learning at NMC. “We envision this viticulture program becoming as key to the wine industry as our nursing program is to local health care delivery.”

Students who enroll will take general education credits at NMC. MSU and VESTA – the Viticulture and Enology Science and Technology Alliance, a seven-state consortium based at Missouri State University – will offer viticulture-specific courses online. MSU will also assist students with arranging practicum and internship experiences at some of the more than two dozen wineries in northwest Michigan.

Mark Johnson, winemaker at Traverse City’s Chateau Chantal winery, is enthusiastic about the program. He was one of four Michigan representatives who participated in a VESTA curriculum conference last year.

“I think it’s just fantastic. There aren’t any programs in the world like this,” said Johnson. “I think we put in an awful lot of very practical, hands-on stuff, backed up with the theory. People are going to come out with this certificate who are going to be of great value to our industry.”

“There is a need for additional training,” said Tom Smith, acting associate director of MSU’s Institute for Agricultural Technology. MSU serves as VESTA’s Michigan member, and VESTA courses are approved by MSU.

“It’s really a three-way partnership,” Smith said. “We’ve had a long history with NMC and this is just another great opportunity.”

Through NMC’s University Center in Traverse City, MSU already offers an Applied Plant science certificate with three agricultural concentrations in Landscape Horticulture, Commercial Horticulture Operations and Commercial Turfgrass Operations in conjunction with NMC’s associate degree in applied plant science. The viticulture certificate will offer another choice. The program will take about two years to complete.

Smith said he hopes about 15 students, likely non-traditional students seeking new careers, will enroll in the program’s first year. MSU has a similar certificate partnership with Lake Michigan College, a community college located in the southwest hub of the state’s wine and grape industry.

This is part of the February 3, 2010 online edition of Harbor Light Newspaper.

Have an opinion on this matter? We'd like to hear from you. Click here.