“The Basics of Grape-Growing and Winemaking in Ontario” will be offered by Mohawk College at the Brantford Campus. It begins on Jan 18 and runs for 10 weeks. Classes run from 7-10 PM. The instructor is a partner in the Villa Nova Estate Winery. He has pioneered grape-growing since 1996 in Norfolk County, and established the first commercial grape winery in 2006. The course is not listed in the published Mohawk calendar for winter 2012, but those interested can read the course outline and enroll on line. It is “Hort 10025″ and is listed under the Brantford Campus, but does not seem to be linked properly today (Dec 3).
This course would be of interest to farmers, horticulturists, backyard hobbyists, amateur winemakersand people in the wine production and retail. You will learn to grow grape vines at low cost from cuttings and using organic growing techniques. One class will involve tasting local wines, and another will be a field trip to our vineyard and winery. Many of the resources for this course are freely available from websites, however a good basic text would be “The Grape-Grower, A Guide to Organic Viticulture” by Lon Rombough. During the course, we will often refer to Geoff Heinrichs “A Prospectus for Growing Grapes in Prince Edward County” which is available on-line . We stock a number of useful texts for growers at our winery: www.villanovaestatewinery.ca
Tags: education, fruit wines, grow grapes, training, villa nova estate winery, winemaking, winery
