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76 WINES&VINES May 2017 WINEMAKING WINE EAST V irginia Mitchell and I first met on a snowy evening in 2012 at a brew pub in State College, Pa. Her harvest internship employer, Mario Mazza, enologist at Mazza Wines in North East, Pa., introduced me to Mitchell in the hope that I could help develop her wine education. She was a college senior with a dream of working in the wine industry, and I was new to extension and trying to rebuild an educational wine program for Pennsylvania. Flash forward five years: Today Mitchell is winemaker for Galer Estate Winery in Kennett Square, Pa. After graduating from Penn State University with a degree in food science, she left the United States for a harvest-hop experience at Two Hands Winery in Australia during the 2013 harvest season. Mitchell was the first of a successful group of undergraduate students who caught the wine bug and turned their attention toward building careers in the wine industry. What started out as an extension program to teach winemakers a multitude of ways to understand common wine faults such as volatile acidity (VA) and Brettanomyces-induced aromas has turned into a catalyst for launching wine careers. The Wine Quality Improvement (WQI) short course is of- fered through Penn State Extension every January. The program has evolved during the past several years and benefitted from the assistance of student volunteers. The program often stimu- lates those students' interest in wine and lays the foundation for future study. They develop an awareness of the local wine industry, learn about practical and applicable professional development opportunities for students and also get a basic introduction to wine quality. The Goal: Better Wine, Future Winemakers Extension's Wine Quality Improvement program inspires professional interests among students By Denise M. Gardner Bre Morgan, Virginia Mitchell and Erin Donnelly prepare for the WQI Short Course. KEY POINTS The Wine Quality Initiative (WQI) program was created to teach Pennsylvania winemakers to identify wine faults through sensory training. The goal was to reduce the number of Pennsylvania wines with noticeable wine flaws. A side benefit of the WQI program is that Penn State students who help run the program often develop an interest in the wine industry. Some have gone on to further study and careers in enol- ogy and/or viticulture. The interaction at WQI between students and wine industry mem- bers has led to internships and co-op opportunities at local winer- ies, and students have participated in harvest-hop experiences across the country and abroad.