Southern Oregon Wine Institute - A Catalyst for Economic Development

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Volume 2

To see a view of Southern Oregon’s economic potential, one only needs to climb a hillside on the campus of Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon.

Today, an expansive view atop the hill looks down over rows of trellises and newly planted grape vines, and beyond to the picturesque UCC campus.  A vision is sprouting from the fertile soil below, and educators, wine industry leaders, business people and community members from seven counties in the surrounding region all have captured it.

This is the proposed home of a comprehensive teaching winery to serve the current and anticipated needs of Southern Oregon’s most promising growth industry…a 24,000 square-foot, LEED-certified, state-of-the-art center that will house an array of educational programs, services and businesses designed to support growers and winemakers throughout Douglas, Jackson, Josephine, Lane, Klamath, Coos and Curry counties.

The Southern Oregon Wine Institute was established in 2008 at UCC as the first viticulture and enology program in Oregon outside of the Willamette Valley.

SOWI offers degree, certificate and continuing education programs that merge conventional classroom training with experiential learning, providing students with the knowledge and skills necessary to either support existing growers and winemakers or establish ventures of their own.

The vision for a state-of-the-art facility to house SOWI programs includes: 

•  Living laboratory of student-cultivated vineyards. 
•  Commercial-scale wine-making facility. 
•  Private testing facility to serve all regional winemakers 
•  Wine incubator to help new artisans plan, start and market their wineries and save the significant costs of starting a winery. 
•  Event center for conferences, meetings and receptions.

This will be the catalyst Southern Oregon’s burgeoning wine industry needs to spark the region’s economic resurgence.