Viticulture and Enology

Crisp, clean, bright — all words that come to mind when thinking about white wine. Hazy? Not so much. 

White and rosé wines can become cloudy when transported in shipping containers or stored on supermarket shelves due to protein denaturation. While they are perfectly safe to drink, those murky wines tend to turn off consumers. 

Smoke from wildfires can alter grapes and affect the taste and sensory experience of wine, threatening California’s $88 billion industry as it faces an increase in fires on the horizon. 

Researchers from the University of California, Davis, and U.S. Department of Agriculture spent this summer applying a calcium spray to grapes to see if the treatment can protect the fruit from smoke exposure.

A glass of wine is often a conversation starter — whether it’s a date or a celebration, wine ranks as a popular beverage that has stood the test of time, lending an effortless elegance to any occasion.

But is wine good for your health?

For the first time in its storied history, the University of California, Davis, is selling wines to the public made by students, staff and faculty from grapes they grow in the Napa Valley and around campus in Yolo County.

When Alexandra Leite arrived on the UC Davis campus as a viticulture and enology major last year, it was a bit intimidating navigating her new world. 

But when she was teamed up with an upper-division mentor through the Davis Enology and Viticulture Organization, or DEVO, all the possibilities of the major opened up as she met other students and attended events.

This year she is the student club’s Under 21 representative and in charge of matching new students and mentors.

Nestled among the rolling hills of Napa Valley and surrounded by award-winning wineries like Opus One and Robert Mondavi lies a gem of the research and winemaking world: Oakville Station.

Overseen by the Department of Viticulture and Enology at University of California, Davis, the 40-acres of land is home to a lab, research facility and two vineyards producing sauvignon blanc, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc and other grapes.

Anita Oberholster, a wine chemist and professor of Cooperative Extension in the Department of Viticulture and Enology at University of California, Davis, died Saturday after a long battle with cancer. She was 50.

Known as a dedicated educator, researcher, mentor and colleague, Oberholster joined UC Davis in 2011 with a background in both wine chemistry and sensory science. She was also charged with working with the industry in her role as a Cooperative Extension specialist supporting the thousands of wineries in California. 

Associate professor and department chair Ben Montpetit has been appointed the Richard M. Kunde Chair in Viticulture and Enology, which is named for a storied alum and pioneering Sonoma County grape farmer. 

Montpetit, a yeast biologist who became chair of the Department of Viticulture and Enology in January, said the endowed chair position provides reliable and flexible support for students, research and teaching.  

Silver Oak Cellars, a family-run business known for its cabernet sauvignon and pinot noir wines, donated $100,000 to the University of California, Davis, to support research on how characteristics like soil chemistry and location affect wines that we enjoy and attribute to specific places, including but not limited to Napa Valley. 

The money will help fund Department of Viticulture and Enology research to better understand how the same grapes planted in different locations can result in wines that have distinctive flavor, texture and other sensory attributes. 

On May 30, 2024, under the shade of the UC Davis Arboretum’s 80-plus-year-old cork oak grove, a rarely seen exhibition of cork harvesting took place. This traditional practice, unfamiliar to most Americans, involves the careful stripping of a cork oak’s outer bark without harming the tree. Commonly performed by skilled craftspeople in Portugal and Spain, the demonstration was organized for students in the “Technology and Winery Systems” (VEN 135) class, regional wine industry stakeholders, and various campus affiliates.