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Midwest Grape and Wine Industry Institute

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Education

Find educational resources that dive deeper into the wine and grape industry from apprenticeship programs to class information.

Iowa State Campanile

MGWII

Resources

Midwest Grape and Wine Industry (MGWII) Institute has an array of educational resources to help individuals in the industry. We offer workshops and other events to help hone your craft.

For ISU students there are several on-campus courses you can enroll in.

  • FS HN 276: Understanding Grape and Wine Science
  • FS HN 509: Sensory Evaluation of Wine
workshop attendees smelling and sampling wine
Sensory workshop

Upcoming Events

WISCONSIN FRESH FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CONFERENCE

Jan 29
8:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Iowa Specialty Producers Conference

Feb 21
8:00 AM – 5:00 PM

2023 Industry Education and Annual Conference

Mar 1
8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
View Events Calendar

IWGA Registered Apprenticeship Program

What is IWGA Apprenticeship Program?

The Iowa Wine Growers Association (IWGA) Registered Apprenticeship Program is an educational and hands-on skills training program. The program is designed with the main goal of creating a well-educated and experienced workforce. This will to help supply and sustain the staffing needs of the wine industry throughout Iowa and the Midwest region. This program is the first of its kind as a statewide industry association sponsored program. It will set certified cellar workers, winemakers, and vineyard managers apart when it comes to receiving the educations and experience necessary to success in the industry.

man using wine production machines
More Information…

VESTA

What is VESTA?

The Viticulture Enology Science and Technology Alliance (VESTA) is a program designed and fulfilled as a technical certification and two-year degree program to train individuals for success in the grape and wine industry. VESTA partners with serval universities and community colleges throughout the US to deliver online advanced viticulture, enology and wine business/entrepreneurship courses. This helps enable students to learn anytime, anywhere.

VESTA Programs

  • Enology
  • Viticulture
  • Wine Business and Entrepreneurship

All of the programs above can also be used towards Associate of Applied Science degree with the addition of 30 hours of general education

Registered Apprenticeship (RA)

There were 1,373 jobs approved for RAs, but there were only two for the grape and wine industry (GWI) – Wine Maker and Cellar Worker.

There were 533,607 active RAs throughout the country, but less than 20 for the GWI – all in Iowa and Michigan.

More Information…

Contact the Midwest Grape and Wine Industry Institute

To learn more about the Midwest Grape and Wine Industry Institute, find out about our research projects, or to attend a board meeting, please reach out to us.

Contact Us
Iowa State University Extension and Outreach

Contact Us

Midwest Grape and Wine Industry Institute

2312 Food Sciences Building
Ames, IA 50011-1061

Email us at wine@iastate.edu
Call us at 515-294-3308
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