V&E Info

This page is devoted to content pertinent to Viticulture and Enology students, researchers, and members of the grape and wine industry. The program at Highland CC started classes in 2008, but this website started in 2019. That’s a lot of ground to cover. We’ll catch up as soon as we can!

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July 19, 2023 HCC 4th Annual Field Day went off without a hitch on July 18th.  A group of 25 students and industry attended the day.  We started off by touring the research vineyard behind HCC’s 456 Wineries, discussing the various grapevine varietals planted and the long-term plan for the trial plot and HCC’s membership in NE2220 Multi-State Cold-Hardy research collaborative.  After a quick demonstration of the HCC vine-net applicator, the group stopped for lunch.  Then the group briefly toured the winery followed by a wine tasting from HCC’s wine library.  The wine library consists of six vintages of wines from HCC’s initial trial plot of 44 varieties planted in 2013.  Ten different wines were evaluated. 

June 20, 2023 Fall Semester Class schedule is all set: 

VIN111 Fundamentals of Viticulture, Tuesday Hybrid, 6:30-8:30pm, 10/17-12/12, Candice Fitch-Deitz teaching

VIN215 Summer-Fall Viticulture, Tuesday Hybrid, 6:30-8:30pm, 8/29-10/10, Candice Fitch-Deitz teaching

ENO116 Introduction to Enology, Wednesday Hybrid, 6:30-8:30pm, 8/23-10/11, Nicole Clark teaching

ENO130 Intermediate Enology, Wednesday Hybrid, 6:30-8:30pm, 10/18-12/13, Nicole Clark teaching

To enroll, contact the HCC-Wamego office at 785-442-6280 or wamego@highlandcc.edu

March 6, 2023 HCC V&E Enology Instructor, Nicole Clark attended the Show Me Grape and Wine Symposium hosted by University of Missouri on March 1-2, 2023. Here are her notes on the conference held in Columbia, MO.

January 14, 2023 Conference season is once again upon us. Below is the power point we presented at the 2023 Heartland Wine Conference in Lawrence, KS.

Here are notes highlighting the other speakers and topics at the Heartland Wine Conference:

PDF Coming Soon.

January 5, 2023, HCC V&E staff attended the Kansas Agritourism Summit in Manhattan, KS.  Here are notes and highlights from that conference:

November 2022: NE2220 Report. Coming Soon.

August 2022 Where did the summer go? Below is a summary of the workshops hosted by HCC and a few photos to go with it. Click the link below:

March 2022: Note the change in date for the Marketing and Barrel workshops. We have wine consultant Cristin Hosmer from Traverse City, MI speaking about vineyard and winery marketing in the morning. After lunch Brian Hosmer, winemaker at Chateau Chantal on Old Mission Peninsula, MI will speak about barrel management. (The AM/PM schedule is subject to change depending on weather.

On March 19th, HCC hosted the Kansas Grape Growers and Winemakers Association annual pruning workshop in Wamego, KS. Long time pruning workshop host, David Cairns unexpectedly passed away earlier in the month prompting the change in venue. Dave has long been a supporter of the grape and wine industry in Kansas as well as supporting Highland’s efforts in grape and wine education. Dave’s enthusiasm and tireless volunteerism will be greatly missed.

During the workshop, HCC Viticulture Instructor Candice Fitch-Deitz presented information about pruning and other related topics followed by demonstrations in the vineyard. A copy of the power point presentation can be viewed or downloaded here:

Feburary 2022:  HCC V&E Workshop schedule for 2022:
3/19: Pruning Workshop; Dover, KS
5/24am: Marketing Workshop; Wamego, KS
5/24pm: Barrel Management Workshop; Wamego, KS
6/7: Grafting Workshop; Wamego, KS
7/19: HCC V&E Field Day; Location TBA

Contact HCC V&E office to sign up for workshops by email: skohl@highlandcc.edu

December 2021: HCC V&E Class schedule for Spring 2022 semester:
ENO116 Intro to Enology; Sat; 9am-6pm; Nicole Clark; 1/8, 1/22, 2/5, 2/12, 2/19
ENO266 Sensory Evaluation; Sat; 9am-6pm; Nicole Clark; 3/12, 3/26, 4/9, 4/23, 5/7
VIN111 Intro to Viticulture; Sat; 9am-6pm; Candice Fitch-Deitz; 3/5, 4/2, 4/9, 5/7, 5/14
VIN211 Integrated Pest Mgt; Sat; 9am-5pm; Candice Fitch-Deitz; 1/8, 1/22, 2/5, 2/19

Click this link to begin the enrollment process: https://highlandcc.edu/pages/apply-student

November 2021: Updated Harvest Data from the HCC V&E Demonstration and Research vineyard. Data includes 2017-2021.

August 2021: HCC V&E Class schedule for Fall Semester:
VIN213 Regional Vineyard Mgt; Saturdays; 9a-5p; 8/7, 8/21, 9/18, 10/2
VIN293 Soils for Viticulture; Saturdays; 9a-6p; 10/16, 10/30, 11/13, 11/20, 12/11
ENO116 Intro to Enology; Saturdays, 9a-6p; 8/7, 8/21, 8/28, 9/11, 9/18
ENO130 Intermediate Enology; Saturdays; 9a-6p, 10/16, 10/30, 11/13, 11/20, 12/11

Click this link to begin the enrollment process: https://highlandcc.edu/pages/apply-student

May 2021: HCC V&E will hold its second annual field day and open house at 456 Wineries on July 27, 2021. Cost is $10 per person. Here is the link for Field Day Registration: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FSD9MLX


February 2021: This is a history of grape acreage in Kansas spanning 1877-1905. Sadly, grape acreage was no longer reported beyond 1905. This document was compiled from annual reports by Kansas Board of Agriculture (later re-named Kansas Department of Agriculture) by staff of Highland Community College Viticulture and Enology Program in 2014.



December 2020: HCC V&E staff hosted the annual meeting of participants of NE1720: Multi-state Coordinated Evaluation of Winegrape Cultivars and Clones. Follow this link for the annual report submitted by HCC following the meeting: https://www.nimss.org/seas/51816


November 2020: Updated Harvest Data from the HCC V&E Demonstration and Research vineyard. Data includes 2017-2020.


August 2020: This is a document listing the highlights and observations from the many conferences and workshops either hosted by or attended by Highland Community College Viticulture and Enology Program staff throughout 2020.


January 2020: Here is a spreadsheet showing harvest data from the HCC Research Vineyard from 2017-2019. The research vineyard was originally planted in 2013. Some vines yielded their first harvest in 2016, but the first “full” harvest was in 2017.


December 2019: Here is the 3-fold flyer that HCC V&E program distributes to potential students. It contains information about the viticulture and enology academic programs at Highland Community College and the VESTA program. The flyer also has a “degree sheet” showing required courses for degrees, semesters that courses are offered, and the one-to-one comparison between course names and numbers in the HCC and VESTA systems.


November 2019: Here are the three vineyard maps for the vineyards planted near Wamego. There are also notes about vines that were replanted, replaced with a different variety, and information pertaining to own-rooted vs. rootstock.

Thanks for visiting 456 Wineries! Come see us at 503 Miller Drive, Wamego, KS 66547 or give us a call at 785-456-WINE.