The Campaign for Napa Valley
Wine Education Complex

A campus within a campus, the Wine Education Complex will bring students and the community together around state-of-the-art wine education facilities.

The Campaign for Napa Valley Wine Education Complex

Wine Education Complex

A Journey Forward

The Wine Education Complex is a two-phase project. Phase One has been generously funded by The Wine Spectator and will more than double the current facilities for the wine and viticulture programs. Phase Two, The Wine and Hospitality Training Center, will provide a significant upgrade and addition to traditional classroom space, offering facilities to accommodate new courses within the College’s Hospitality Culinary Tourism Management Program (HCTM). Groundbreaking on phase one will begin in Spring of 2024, and we’re incredibly excited to continue our campaign of raising the additional four million needed for completion of Phase Two. 

Phase I:

The Wine Spectator Wine Education Center

This 7,000 square foot classroom building will consist of two flexible sensory classrooms that can be combined to seat up to 80 students at a time, and a laboratory classroom with 28 lab stations designed to give students hands-on experience with wine laboratory practices. The sensory classrooms will be the largest classrooms on campus, designed to incorporate the latest technologies in acoustic and lighting design to provide an immersive, experiential appreciation of wine.

Phase I

FULLY FUNDED

by the $10 million Wine Spectator Wine Education Center gift.

“If ever there was an educational institution poised for significant contributions to the growth of the California wine industry, this is it.”

– Marvin R. Shanken, editor and publisher of Wine Spectator

Phase II:

A Wine and Hospitality Training Center

The Wine and Hospitality Training Center will provide training in all aspects of wine marketing, sales, and hospitality, including winery food programs, wine club membership, tasting room management, tourism, and the role of a winery chef.

JOIN US

in raising $4 million to complete the Complex with construction of the Wine and Hospitality Training Center.

Job placement rates in the College’s wine program consistently exceed 80%.

Many in the wine and tourism sectors in Napa Valley have expressed a pressing need for highly trained hospitality staff for their tasting rooms, visitor centers, hotels and restaurants. The entire focus of this new facility will be in addressing those concerns and meeting that need. From the basics of wine and food knowledge to professional level customer service, this new facility gives us the opportunity to offer both the classes and hands-on, practical experience needed to create these world-class employees of the future.

Utilized as a “Marketing Lab” the flexible space and training facility will provide:

  • Classroom and training space for the College’s food and wine programs.
  • A demonstration kitchen to provide hands-on training for students.
  • A tasting bar and movable sit-down seating to emulate a variety of hospitality and tasting room scenarios.
  • Event space to host industry trainings, educational events, guest lecturers and wine industry professionals. 

Expanding our Wine and Food Pathway

The Wine and Food Pathway helps students build extensive skills through successive certificate and degree options. Courses provide opportunities for students to enhance their careers through multiple degree tracks focused on wine education, food and wine pairing, hospitality training and the cultural appreciation of wine. The Wine and Hospitality Training Center will be the hub for this expanded pathway program, centrally located within the wine program facilities on Napa Valley College’s main campus.

Culinary
Arts

This fast-paced six-month intensive program follows a curriculum designed to teach culinary techniques required to be a successful professional fine-dining chef.

Hospitality Management

Designed to expose students to the fun- damentals of the hospitality industry, the second largest employer in the Napa Valley.

Viticulture and Winery Technology

Based on a core curriculum of viticulture, winemaking, and wine marketing courses, students are prepared for entry-level positions and opportunities to advance their careers.

Napa Valley College Students

– Work within the industry every day, taking evening classes to improve their skills and advance their careers.
– Are English Language Learners (ELL) who receive training and career advancement services.
– Are second and third generation farm and cellar workers, often the first in their families to earn a college degree.

0%
come from families that cannot provide any contribution toward the cost of their education.
0%
are first in their family to attend college.
0%
are female.
0%
experience some form of food insecurity.

“The wine program at Napa Valley College is an invaluable resource both to students and to the wine industry. With its schedule of evening classes, the program is accessible for students currently employed in wineries. The program’s remarkable job placement record ensures successful employment and a thriving, growing wine- producing community.”

- Doug Shafer, Vintner

“Napa Valley College is a vital resource for our community, providing students with job-ready skills by receiving a high-quality, accessible, and affordable education. I’ve been lucky to be a guest lecturer in the wine marketing program class and have seen first- hand the quality of education these students receive.”

- Warren Winiarski, Founder of Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars

“The wine program at Napa Valley College is ground zero for hands on experience to those looking to further their education in the wine industry. Students leave the program ready to work in the wine industry.”

- Michael Baldacci, Winemaker, Baldacci Family Vineyards

“Napa Valley College’s wine program is a hidden gem in our valley and yet crucial to so many of us in the wine industry. The program provides a learning environment where students can work within the industry while taking classes. The positive impact that the College makes in our wine industry is immeasurable.”

- Karen Fontanella, Fontanella Family Winery, NVC Foundation Board Member

PARTNER WITH US

Naming Recognition Opportunities

The following limited naming opportunities are available and can be named in recognition of the donor or in honor and memory of another person the donor wishes to recognize:

  • Exterior Wine & Hospitality Training Center Building – $2,000,000
  • Interior Wine & Hospitality Training Center Atrium $1,000,000
  • Wine & Hospitality Training Center Terrace – $500,000

  • Wine & Hospitality Training Center Tasting Area – $250,000

  • Wine & Hospitality Training Center Demonstration Kitchen – $250,000

  • Wine & Hospitality Training Center Columns (3) – $100,000

  • Wine & Hospitality Tasting Prep Room – $50,000

  • Exterior Terrace Seating (2) – $25,000

The Founders Circle

The Founders Circle is a group of visionary donors who support the Campaign for Napa Valley College’s Wine & Hospitality Training Center with a one-time, transformational gift of $25,000 or more. In addition to the limited recognition locations listed above, all other Founders Circle gifts will be prominently recognized on the Donor Recognition Display located in the Training Center Atrium area.

Gifts of all sizes are welcomed and will be recognized on the donor recognition display.
For more information on opportunities please contact:

Jessica Thomason
[email protected]
(707) 256-7509

Help us make a difference with a gift, today. Together we can reimagine wine education in the Napa Valley.

Get more information: