Food science students get hands-on experience with winemaking
by Kielly Jewell, posted Sept. 25, 2009
Missouri may not be the first place one associates with grape production and winemaking, but University of Missouri researchers are trying to change current perceptions.
At the MU Institute for Continental Climate Viticulture and Enology (ICCVE), researchers are trying to put Missouri back on the winemaking map. Work in the institute centers on learning the best winemaking and grape growing practices for the Midwest climate, specifically Missouri.
Keith Striegler, associate professor of food science, is the MU viticulture program director and helps oversee the ICCVE.
“The goal of the ICCVE is to be the comprehensive program for viticulture and enology for Missouri and the region,” Striegler said. The ICCVE’s focuses range from research to extension, and from service to teaching in Missouri.
New this fall, incoming MU freshmen are able to complete a food science degree with an emphasis in enology. The ICCVE is not an academic unit, but they do participate in academic programs, Striegler said. Undergraduate and graduate students are involved in all aspects of the research process. They get hands-on experience in the field and even create experimental wines.
Derek LeRoy, a freshman majoring in food science, works both in the lab and in the field.
“Along with picking grapes, I work in the lab helping with titrations, pH readings and creating and then analyzing samples,” LeRoy said.
Striegler believes that by taking part in the research and field work, students prepare for the industry and become more marketable to employers in the region. Employers want people who are familiar with the Midwestern climate and growing conditions, instead of hiring out-of-state workers.
“There is a tremendous and remarkable history in winemaking in Missouri,” Striegler said. “Prohibition really hurt the industry here, but it started making a comeback in the 1960s and is now going full-speed ahead at this time.”
“I plan on being involved in the wine industry in the future,” LeRoy said. “I have been involved in the enology aspect for a while and now I’m working on learning more about the viticulture aspect. My dad is the winemaker at Hermannhof Winery, and I have been helping him ever since I was old enough to walk. I have been around a winery my entire life, and I love it.”
Missouri’s wine industry created more than $6 million in retail sales in 2005, according to the Institute for Continental Climate Viticulture and Enology Web site. The Missouri Wine and Grape Board funds the institute with funds directed from a statewide tax on those wine sales.
