MiraCosta Student Learns from Local Winemakers,

Plans to Take Knowledge Home to India

On a sunny hillside near the Horticulture building, Vijay Agarwal and his fellow students in MiraCosta College's Vineyard Management class are growing a one-acre vineyard on the college’s Oceanside campus. Guided by the expertise of their instructors Jim Hart and Pete Anderson, students have planted 160 Italian and French vine cuttings as part of their lab work, with plans to produce grapes for several varieties of wine, including cabernet sauvignon, Chardonnay, and Pinot Grigio.

The vineyard will serve as an outdoor classroom for students in the horticulture program and its various wine and vineyard production classes, as well as for students in the Hospitality Program.

"It's a practical hands-on instructional tool for current and future classes," said Claire Ehrlinger, lead instructor in horticulture.

Agarwal, who holds an M.B.A in finance and has worked in the financial sector, came to MiraCosta with little background in wine making. He is establishing a 100-acre vineyard and winery in Hyderabad, India, and is applying the information he is learning at MiraCosta to making his Indian business a success.

"Now I understand the language of wine making and I know what it takes to set up a vineyard," said Agarwal who is CEO and founder of Deccan Winery.

The MiraCosta vineyard is providing Agarwal and fellow students with lessons in everything from soil preparation and irrigation to insects and canopy management, which involves pruning and monitoring sunlight to optimize grape quality.

"You can read tons and tons of books, but it's a completely different experience coming out and doing it," said Lauren Matucci, a horticulture student at MiraCosta.

Many of the 30 students who dug holes and planted vines are area residents interested in applying the lessons of the MiraCosta vineyard to their own backyard vineyards. Agarwal is just taking his plan to a larger scale. And he’s grateful to have instructors with real-world experience leading the way.

"I'm excited to see this much enthusiasm from local people wanting to grow vineyards," Hart said.  Both Hart and Anderson are veteran winemakers with years of experience.

Hart is the son of Joe and Nancy Hart, the owners of Hart Winery in Temecula. Beginning with their first vine plantings in 1974, the Harts and their three sons have built the family business together and now the 10-acre winery produces about 5,000 cases of premium wine annually.

“MiraCosta’s program is really meeting a need—there’s so much interest in wine making right now and the nearbyTemecula Valley wine region is flourishing,” says Ehrlinger. The MiraCosta College vineyard and wine production program fill a void in the area as it is the only community college in the region providing the training and facilities for students to learn the wine-making business from literally the ground up.

"The learning curve for wine making is straight up--there's so much to learn," Anderson said.

Jason Kubrock, manager of the horticulture grounds and facilities, will work together with horticulture students and instructors to maintain the vineyard.

Materials for the vineyard have been donated by Grangetto's in Escondido; Sunridge Nurseries and Jim's Supply, both of Bakersfield; and Agri Service in Vista.

For more information about the vineyard or the Horticulture Program at MiraCosta College, contact Claire Ehrlinger, (760) 795-6704 or e-mail her.