In her position at the Lodi Winegrape Commission, Bolton provides targeted and daily support to Lodi winegrape growers in the areas of advanced grower education and outreach, marketing and promotions of the region’s diverse winegrapes, and – most notably – viticultural research and sustainability programming, including Lodi’s world-renowned LODI RULES sustainable certification program. The Lodi AVA (Crush District 11) contains over 100,000 acres of grapevines, with a unique profile where new vineyard plantings exist alongside century-old vines, soil types range from sandy loam to volcanic terrain, and just about every trellising system invented is being used. In this dynamic region, Bolton’s role is key in facilitating effective communications for progressive grape growing among the 750 farmers in the community.

Plant Pathology Department - Wine and Grapes

Responsibilities for this course have grown over the years. I learned Italian to properly pronounce wine names and communicate on a basic level. My main role is designing and implementing afternoon laboratory sessions to increase student confidence in wine sensory analysis. Four days per week, I host a hands-on activity to teach a basic wine principle, after which I lead students through a wine tasting. We have limited supplies so this requires creativity and careful planning. I engage students with wine trivia, a wine word of the day, and a wine fact of the day. I teach them how to pronounce difficult wine vocabulary (sommelier, terroir), properly open wine bottles, and wine etiquette. They keep wine journals which I grade at the end, writing each student a personal note. Past interactive lessons have included: creation of a wine label, food and wine pairings speed-dating style, and fermentation basics with surprise grape stomping. I lead students during weekly field trips and host extra sessions in our free time to teach short cooking/wine courses. We developed a group project to increase the relevance of the course and extend the wine education to several regions of the world. They are given a specific role, assigned based on interest and personality, in the winemaking industry as part of a mock winery. I created a wine library at the Cortona campus which contains several copies each of pertinent wine texts. In the beginning of the course, I have students write down their learning goals and I use these notes to guide my lessons, ensuring that I teach every student what he or she wants to learn about wine.