Southern Oregon Wine Institute Hires Leading Winemaker as Instructor

As reported by Douglas County The News-Review, Umpqua Community College has named a new interium enology instructor who will join two others hired to fill in for the former head of its wine program.

Linda Donovan of Pallet Wine Company and L. Donovan Wines will teach the Science of Winemaking III course in the Spring term, which begins March 29th. Donovan is not new to working with UCC, as she partnered with the school last year to produce a premium Merlot that was sold through the UCC foundation.

Chris Lake, Director of UCC's Southern Oregon Wine Institute, says, "We are delighted to have an enologist of Linda Donovan's caliber on our faculty. She has made some of the finest wines produced in this region and has a solid track record of teaching at Oregon State University Extension as well."

Donovan is the third adjunct instructor hired this year after the young wine program lost its Assistant Director, Rebecca Ford-Kapoor, when she moved back to her homeland New Zealand to attend to family matters. UCC is still searching for a permanent hire to fill the vacancy for next year.

Donovan is a founding partner of Medford's Pallet Wine Company, a custom crush facility created to serve Southern Oregon's rapid growing wine industry in 2009. Last year, the facility reportedly processed more than 180 tons of wine grapes, far exceeding their expectations.

Donovan earned her enology degree from the University of California at Davis. She has worked at leading wineries including Robert Mondavi, Beaulieu Vineyard and Flowers Vineyard and Winery. In 2000, Donovan came to Southern Oregon and established a 10-acre vineyard and launch a consulting company, L. Donovan Wines.

About the Umpqua Community College Southern Oregon Wine Institute:
Prompted by demand from winemakers and vineyard managers, Umpqua Community College's Southern Oregon Wine Institute is "preparing a new generation for thousands of jobs expected over the next decade," according to Dana Tims of The Oregonian.  Southern Oregon is projected to add nearly 5,000 jobs directly or indirectly related to the wine industry in the coming decade.  That translates to $115 million in added annual labor income.

The institute, spanning a 7-county area, contains a 5-acre teaching vineyard in Roseburg with plans to build a $7 million educational winery once the appropriate money has been fundraised. The Southern Oregon Institute focuses on its native warm-climate varietals, which differs from the cool-climate focused Northwest Viticulture Center in the Willamette Valley. The program offers a one-year certification program in Viticulture and Enology, Wine Marketing Assistant Pathway Certificate, and two-year Viticulture and Enology Associates Degree.