Where to Become a Wine, Beer, Food Science or Honey Expert

No. It’s not heaven. It’s the Robert Mondavi Institute at the University of California Davis.

Founded in 2001 with an endowment from Robert Mondavi, this institue is where dots connect for people and businesses wanting to master the craft and science of wine, beer, dairy and beekeeping.

Homesteading and DIY classes and apprenticeships are awesome. But when you want to know the why behind what you’re creating and cross-pollinate with serious brain power and industry folk, this is the place.

I came for the tour and left with the Village Bakery bread.

So I made a point to trek out to Davis (about 90 minutes from San Francisco). Classic California college town known for its bike riders.

Now known to me for its sticky buns and bread from the Village Harvest.

Hey I had to carboload before the walking tour.

Here’s What Makes the Institute So Amazing for Food Professionals and Food Lovers

Olive Center certifies olive oil makers and growers in the art and science of olive oil production. Even the casual olive oil fanatic can take courses such as the Sensory Evaluation of Olive Oil, an ideal course for the professional buyer, importer, category manager, producer. Sensory, culinary, chemistry and policy experts guide you through a unique tasting and educational odyssey. Attend both courses for the definitive Master experience – more than 100 olive oils from around the world!
Honey & Pollination Center coordinating a multi-disciplinary team to work with all aspects of the beekeeping industry to ensure our bees thrive. Programs are relevant to those in agriculture, grocers and chefs, beekeepers and future beekeepers, urban homesteaders and students. Classes range from beekeeping to mead making!
Wine Economics which undertakes and guides research and education about the economics of the production and consumption of wine grapes and wine in California and beyond.

Departments under the Mondavi Institute

Viticulture and Enology for experimenting hands-on with sustainable grape growing and mastering the art and science of wine making. The Wine Teaching and Research Laboratory is certified LEED Platinum, the pinnacle of sustainable building and operation—an inspiration in itself.
Food Science and Technology Department, internationally recognized for graduating students with a focus on making food healthier, tastier, and safer for consumers. Research here ranges from sensory science to social and cultural aspects of food.

Enjoy my photo tour, only enhanced by the Magritte clouds. I didn’t want to leave.

: UC Davis is home to California’s only certification program for beekeepers. Educational vineyards sit in the distance, vineyards that students who attend Davis from undergraduate through grad school can tend over 6 years, experiencing the entire life cycle.

: The architecture and gardens at the Robert Mondavi Institute are simply stunning, beyond their LEED Platinum eco-friendly functionality.

: Visitors and students can learn about fruits and vegetables growing in the test gardens.

: A lovely complex of departments that cross-pollinate.

: Get your bucket list ready (if not your wine bucket). For around $200 the public can join students to taste incredibly rare wines here at the Robert Mondavi Institute, all in the spirit of education. Wineries and wine collectors have donated the wines.

: Wine bottles stand ready for a blind tasting, identified by secret codes.

: The Wine Teaching and Research Laboratory is beyond LEED Platinum in its sustainable architecture. Captured rain powers the facility, and the wine vats have automated scrubbers which reduces water usage.

: Food manufacturers can tap into the wisdom of UC Davis food science professors by locating equipment in this test kitchen.

: You can thank Bud for this state-of-the-art beer crafting facility where students learn about fermentation and established beer companies can evolve their craft.

: This old-time beer brewing equipment doesn’t look so old at all.

: The Robert Mondavi Institute sits a carrot’s throw away from related Food Science, Viticulture and related departments.

: A lone wine taster does his job. The facility can accommodate up to 24 simultaneous wine tasters.

: Notes on how to taste and what to look for help the wine taster. The trap door goes to a room through which the wine tester passes the glasses.

: A blind wine tasting, which wineries often undertake at the center. The dark wine glasses obscure the sense of sight in evaluating the wines.

: Students learn the chemistry of food in the process of making mayonnaise.

: Deeply educational and delicious food and wine events happen frequently at the Robert Mondavi Center and in the Silverado Vineyard Sensory Theater.

: When the theater is full of a class undertaking tastings, dividers can make judging all the more official, as demonstrated by Clare Hasler-Lewis, Executive Director of the Robert Mondavi Institute