MU to offer two winemaking workshops

COLUMBIA — Want to learn what it takes to be a vintner? MU is offering two workshops on the process of winemaking next week.

The first course offered is a one-day basic concepts workshop on Monday. The program includes a tour of the research winery and several demonstrations of winemaking processes, said Rebecca Ford Kapoor, the program's coordinator and an Extension enologist at the MU Institute for Continental Climate Viticulture and Enology.

“They’ll get an understanding of how in-depth winemaking is, especially commercial winemaking,” Ford Kapoor said.

The workshop costs $60 for Missouri residents and $80 for non-Missouri residents, according to an MU news release.

For those with the basic concepts of winemaking, MU offers The Missouri Wine School, a three-day course that offers in-depth instruction on wine analysis, basic cellar operations, wine finishing, winery sanitation, quality assessment and causes and treatments of wine faults, according to an MU press release. It will be held from July 14 to 16.

The program costs $320 for Missouri residents and $420 for non-Missouri residents. Ford Kapoor said the program is helpful to people who have started their wineries.

“The wine school is a lot more hands-on,” she said. It involves “lab analysis of their own wines, a critical part of winemaking.”

The Wine School will also tour the Les Bourgeois winery and participate in a wine tasting. Ford Kapoor said the workshop is exciting because she hasn’t heard of anyone else holding a comprehensive wine school before.

The wine workshops come as an effort for MU to broaden its influence in Missouri’s wine industry.

“We’re hoping it meets the needs of a fast growing Missouri wine industry,” said Ford Kapoor. 

Anyone interested in winemaking or starting a vineyard can register and attend the workshops at 155 Eckles Hall, East Rollins Street.

For more information and registration forms, go to iccve.missouri.edu.