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2025 Unified Wine & Grape Symposium

 

UC Davis Viticulture and Enology (V&E) faculty, staff, and students represented the department at the Unified Wine and Grape Symposium, January 29 and 30, 2025, at the Sacramento Convention Center. Our team’s booth and engagement with industry leaders highlighted the department's innovative research, cutting-edge approaches to teaching, evolving curriculum, new faculty, and our continuing leadership.

Spring Extension Update

 

The UC Davis V&E Extension Team organized and presented several programs since the beginning of the year. We hosted two “On Campus” programs. The first, on February 19th, was titled, Exploring different aspects of vine health.

Course Profile: VEN 127L

 

VEN 127L, officially known as "Post-Fermentation Wine Processing", is a hands-on course for V&E students designed to equip them with practical skills in winemaking. This course was created in 2018, after receiving industry feedback highlighting the need for more graduates who are skilled in post-fermentation processes, including hands-on experience in the winery.

Research Profile: Liang Chen

Liang Chen is an Assistant Professor and Wine Chemist in the Department of Viticulture and Enology, where his research program develops innovative analytical approaches to address fundamental scientific questions and practical challenges in wine chemistry.

Viticulture & Enology Student Outreach Events

Our on-campus student outreach saw great momentum this winter, as we welcomed a wide range of visitors and collaborators. We hosted junior college counselors and presidents, middle and high school students from the Napa Valley area, and launched a new collaboration with the Lodi Appellation Inclusion Collective. Additionally, our undergraduate advisor Liz and the team did a phenomenal job encouraging admitted students to enroll at Aggie Day and Picnic Day.

Alumni Profile: Joe Shirley

Year of graduation and degree: 
1997. M.S. in Food Science with an emphasis in Enology

Current job title/company: 
Director of Commercial Luxury Winemaking, Trinchero Family Estates

What have you been up to since you graduated? 
I worked in the Cellar at Sonoma Cutrer, then I went to work in the laboratory for the Trincheros and I have been with them ever since.

Student Profile: Naomi Morales

Student Standing
4th-year undergraduate student

Degree/Focus:
Viticulture and Enology, with a strong focus on winemaking, but a deep appreciation for viticulture too. I believe the best wines are made by those who keep their hands in both the vineyard and the cellar.

Hometown:
Pretty much all over California.

What brought you to UC Davis? 
Sheer determination. I knew I didn’t want to uproot my life for just any program — it had to be UC Davis or nothing.

New! Food Tech Club Alumni Network Interest Form

The Food Tech Club (FTC) at UC Davis is starting a Food Tech Club Alumni Network. We are currently looking to find alumni who would be willing to serve as network leaders as we first build this network. The current goals of the network are to help alumni stay connected to each other and to stay updated on the activities of the Food Tech Club. Sign up if you are interested in learning more about being a network leader and help us spread the word to your UCD community!

Maria Marco on NPR's Morning Edition - Secret superfood in white rice and pasta

Can you change "bad" carbs into "good" ones? In this very interesting story featuring FST's Maria Marco, "There's a secret superfood in white rice and pasta: Here's how to unlock it", from NPR's Morning Edition, May 12th, you'll learn about resistant starch, and how to convert "naughty" white rice and pasta into a slower-digesting form that is friendlier to our blood sugar because it contains more resistant starch (fiber).

Selina Wang talks oils on The Dave Chang Show podcast

FST's Selina Wang is the guest on today's The Dave Chang Show podcast, where she, Dave, and host Chris Ying discuss the hot topic of seed oils and other cooking oils - what is healthy and why? Dave shares his opinions as a chef and restaurateur, and Selina explains some chemistry, along with factors like dose, time, temperature, and the fact that people are not rats.  Tune in at 14:46 minutes for the start of her segment, which ends around 1:01 hr. The whole video is 1 hr. 25 min and is rated explicit for language. 

What to Know About Processed and Ultra-Processed Food

Experts Weigh In on the Debate Behind How Processed Foods Could Affect Health Take a stroll down the middle aisles of any American grocery store, and you’ll be surrounded by rows of brightly colored packaged macaroni and cheese, instant soups and chips in all forms and flavors — all with long ingredient lists.

The Gut Health Benefits of Sauerkraut

Is sauerkraut more than just a tangy topping? A new University of California, Davis, study published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology suggests that the fermented cabbage could help protect your gut, which is an essential part of overall health, supporting digestion and protecting against illness.