In early September, the first wine grapes arrived at the JUSTIN and J. LOHR Wine & Viticulture Center from Cal Poly's Trestle Vineyard for processing. 

"Harvest is a unique opportunity for students, especially those that haven't experienced it before," said enology professor Federico Casassa. "It's about hard work, both physical and mental; attention to detail, craftsmanship, intent, applied science and direction in terms of their stylistic choices — such as what they want to accomplish with their wines." 

This year's harvest has been "blissfully uneventful," Casassa said, adding that the crops benefited from a lack of wildfires and heat waves, and recovered well from a few unseasonal rain episodes. "The quality looks very good to exceptional, with plenty of flavors and higher than average acidity — which is great for aging potential."

Casassa said the center processed about 21 tons of grapes from the day harvest began on Sept. 4 to Oct. 24, when commercial production wrapped up. He added that the center will process an additional five to eight tons of grapes for research projects, expecting to finish around mid-November.

The completely donor-funded wine and viticulture center includes a state-of-the-art, 5,000-case bonded winery, a fermentation hall, bottling room, barrel rooms and a research lab.

Casassa said that the winery has six interns, as well as four undergraduates conducting research and four graduate students doing research full-time. Projects the center is working on include understanding the structural components of wine balance to measuring the oxidation reduction potential in white and red wines. 

See scenes from this year's harvest below. 

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