southwest wine center

Any wine lover who has savored a soulful Cabernet or been transported back to France with one sip of Burgundy has likely daydreamed about quitting their job to become a winemaker. Thanks to the Southwest Wine Center at Yavapai College, Arizonans who want to make the dream a reality can easily do so. Started in 2009, the Southwest Wine Center is the only such program in Arizona. It is the brainchild of the Verde Valley Wine Consortium and was born to fuel the growing wine industry in the state.

The Southwest Wine Center offers both an applied science degree in viticulture and enology, as well as certificates in enology and viticulture. “We’re one of only three junior colleges in the country that offers this comprehensive program,” said Paula Woolsey, who has been with the school since its inception and teaches the majority of the enology classes. The degree is designed to take two years, while the certificate programs are one year. Wine lovers can also take courses for personal enrichment, and there are several wine workshops offered to the community. 

The programs attract a diverse student mix. According to Michael Pierce, the school’s director and the winemaker for the local winery Bodega Pierce, the average student age is 49. “Our oldest student was 80 and our youngest are in their early 20s,” said Woolsey. “We attract a lot of people looking for a career change. The program is very welcoming to people of all ages.” The school has a well-endowed, non-need-based scholarship program that Pierce urges prospective students to take advantage of. 

The Southwest Wine Center curriculum focuses on practical, hands-on learning more than wine theory. This approach lets students experience all aspects of winemaking firsthand. “It’s an incredible learning lab,” said Pierce. “If you want to learn how to grow grapes and make wine, this is your place.”

The instructors are open to all questions and ideas and give students transparent insight into a career in the wine industry. In addition to winemaking, alumni have gone on to become cellar masters, wine tour operators, and winery owners. Some notable graduates include Julia Dixon, owner of 1764 Vineyards, Bree Nation, assistant winemaker at Page Springs Cellar, and Tom Messeir, assistant winemaker and cellar master at Deep Sky Vineyard.

Both the certificate and degree programs are done online and in person. According to Pierce students need to be on the Clarkdale campus about one-third of the time.  “Some students from Phoenix commute for the day, others stay in hotels or at the college’s RV park,” he said. “The college is building student housing for our destination programs that will open next fall.”

To give students hands-on experience the school boasts a 13-acre vineyard planted with white and red grape varietals that thrive in Arizona. The vineyard gives students the chance to apply what they learn about soil science, water and pest management, and participate in a full harvest cycle. 

Once the students harvest the grapes, they have the opportunity to make their own wine in the school’s full-production winery. The winery was repurposed from an underutilized indoor racquetball building on campus and houses a fermentation room, two barrel rooms, and a tasting room. For students who are taking the program with an eye to a job after graduation, Woolsey says there are often more jobs available than graduates to fill them.

Throughout the years, wines produced by students at the Southwest Wine Center have wowed judges at local competitions. In 2019 the school’s Viognier was named Best In Show in the azcentral Arizona Wine Competition, and in 2018 its rosé won Best Rosé in the Growers Cup. This year, alumni Julia Dixon at 1764 Vineyards took Best Red in the Arizona Governor’s Cup and the Southwest Wine Center took five silver medals and two bronze medals.

The community has the opportunity to taste all the student’s wine at the college’s tasting room. It’s open by reservation from Thursday to Sunday. “The school’s evaluation has been so fun to watch,” said Woolsey. “I run several big wine events and now they’re filled with wineries and winemakers who graduated from Southwest Wine Center.”

written by: dena rochè | photo courtesy of: tom schumacher

southwest wine center: 601 west black hills dr, clarkdale, az 86324