Curriculum
The Vineyard Management (Viticulture) Associate Degree program is a two-year, four-semester program. Upon graduation, a student will have earned 60 credits.
FIRST SEMESTER
10-090-111 Organic Ag Intro
2
10-145-189 Writing a Business Plan-Sm Bus
3
VIN 111 Intro to Viticulture
3
VIN 135 Botanical Viticulture
4
SECOND SEMESTER
*10-090-102 Org Soils, Nutrients, Comp
1
VIN 113 Winter Viticulture Technology
2
VIN 114 Spring Viticulture Technology
2
VIN 211 Integrated Pest Management
2
10-804-107 College Mathematics
3
10-806-112 Principles of Sustainability
3
THIRD SEMESTER
**10-145-188 Entrepreneurial Service Mgmt
3
**10-145-185 Organizing Your Small Business
3
**10-145-186 Financial Management-Small Bus
3
**10-145-187 Marketing Your Small Business
3
VIN 115 Summer/Fall Viticulture Tech
2
VIN 213 Regional Vineyard Management
2
10-801-136 English Composition 1
3
10-809-172 Race Ethnic & Diversity
3
FOURTH SEMESTER
*10-090-105 Organic Produce
1
*10-090-107 Organic Ag and Food Marketing
1
VIN 293 Soils for Viticulture
3
10-801-196 Oral/Interpersonal Comm
3
10-809-199 Psychology Of Human Relations
3
Curriculum Note
*These courses must be taken at NWTC to receive an associate degree.
**One of these 10-145-XXX courses must be taken at NWTC to receive an associate degree
Suggested Electives
. Any courses from the Winemaking (Enology) program
. Organic Specialty Crops & Animals, 10-090-106
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
These courses provide an opportunity for students to develop the knowledge, skills, and understanding required for employment in this field.
10-090-102 ORGANIC SOILS, NUTRIENTS, COMPOSTING ...functional soil is the foundation of organic systems. Builds robust healthy soil through organic matter, micro-organisms, and nutrient cycling. Explore composting techniques, organic fertilizer sources, soil fertility testing, balancing.
10-090-105 ORGANIC PRODUCE ...whether gardening on a small scale or using commercial greenhouses and fields, plan plantings, control pests, diseases and weeds all using best organic practices. Create a harvest and marketing plan.
10-090-107 ORGANIC AG AND FOOD MARKETING ...create a business plan to analyze market need, sell your organic products. Whether unique value-added products, direct local services or commodity-based dairy, crops, discover best options, avenues for success.
10-090-111 ORGANIC AG INTRO ...explore practices used in organic farming and gardening. Debate current issues including Genetically Modified Organisms, herbicides, pesticides, hormones, and animal stewardship. Compare organic and conventional production methods. Outline certification paperwork.
10-145-185 ORGANIZING YOUR SMALL BUSINESS ...the components of small business ownership by examining a variety of small business startup and operation scenarios. Assesses your own readiness to begin the entrepreneurial adventure.
10-145-186 FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT-SMALL BUSINESS ...the importance of good recordkeeping systems, reports, and the records necessary for a small business. Financial analysis techniques are explored through hands-on Income statements and cash flow projections for small businesses.
10-145-187 MARKETING YOUR SMALL BUSINESS ...implement and evaluate a marketing plan for their small business. Students will develop a marketing plan for a selected small business. Components of the plan include market research, customer focus, quality, pricing, and advertising.
10-145-188 ENTREPRENEURIAL SERVICE MANAGEMENT ...the elements of your successful business with a strategic plan that focuses on servicing your customer with a winning attitude, performance, teamwork, and competition.
10-145-189 WRITING A BUSINESS PLAN-SMALL BUSINESS ...as a necessary component to beginning a small business, from addressing facets of the business plan, observing various types of plans, to realizing readiness to begin. Plan preparation/presentation are required.
10-196-191 SUPERVISION ...front-line leadership including teamwork, setting goals, planning, delegation, controlling, communication, motivation, performance management, staffing, training, problem solving, and conflict management.
10-320-101 INTRO TO VITICULTURE AND VINEYARD ESTABLISHMENT ...learn about viticulture and vineyard establishment. Topics include: cultivar selection, site preparation, equipment, site selection, first season establishment, vine development and training, trellis systems, weed control, vine disease control, and pruning. Students partner with approved vineyards for field experience.
10-320-102 WINTER VITICULTURE TECHNOLOGY ...practical experience in winter vineyard operations. Students partner with approved vineyards for required field experience which will serve as work experience for those seeking employment in commercial viticulture.
10-320-103 SPRING VITICULTURE TECHNOLOGY ...practical experience in spring vineyard operations. Students are required to partner with approved vineyards for field experience which will serve as work experience for those seeking employment in commercial viticulture.
10-320-104 SUMMER/FALL VITICULTURE TECHNOLOGY ...practical experience in summer/fall vineyard operations. Students are required to partner with approved vineyards for field experience which will serve as work experience for those seeking employment in commercial viticulture.
10-320-105 VINEYARD SAFETY ...learn safety procedures specific to grape growing including a general history of agricultural safety and health issues, ergonomics, OSHA safety rules and safety issues and concerns.
10-320-106 INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT ...learn how to manage normal cultural practices such as planting, fertility, harvesting, and pruning as well as managing the insect, disease, and weed programs that occur either regularly or sporadically.
VIN 213 REGIONAL VINEYARD MANAGEMENT ...study commercial grape growing throughout the United States. Learn about viticultural methods practiced, challenges faced, and how those challenges are addressed in different grape growing regions throughout the continental United States. Prerequisites: VIN 111, Vineyard Establishment and Maintenance; VIN 113, Winter/Spring Viticulture Technology, or permission.
10-320-108 SOILS FOR VITICULTURE ...explore soil properties and behavior, and their influence on wines. This course focuses not only on growth and production, but on the long-term effect of viticulture on soil quality and the wider environment.
VIN 135 BOTANICAL VITICULTURE ...This course is a survey of the plant kingdom, including plant cells and tissues, the ecology, morphology, physiology and life cycles of representative plants of each division. It will also focus communication on grapevine biology, vine structures and their functions.
10-804-107 COLLEGE MATHEMATHICS ...an introductory level course designed to review and develop fundamental concepts of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and statistics. Emphasis will be placed on computational skills and applications of rational numbers; problem solving skills with ratios, proportions, and percent; basic principles and application of algebra, geometry, graphing, and statistics; measurement skills in U.S. Customary and Metric Systems; and the use of calculators as a tool. (Prerequisite: Accuplacer-Arithmetic=65 OR ACT-Math=15 OR 10-834-109, PreAlgebra OR 77-854-759, BE Math Prep IIB with "C" or better OR equivalent) 3 cr.
10-806-112 PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABILITY ...prepares the student to develop sustainable literacy, analyze the interconnections among the physical and biological sciences and environmental systems, summarize the effects of sustainability on health and well-being, analyze connections among social, economic, and environmental systems, employ energy conservation strategies to reduce the use of fossil fuels, investigate alternative energy options, evaluate options to current waste disposal and recycling in the U.S., and analyze approaches used by your community to promote and implement sustainability. (Prerequisite: Accuplacer-Reading=55 OR ACT-Reading =15 OR 77-858-759, BE Reading Prep IIB OR equivalent) 3 cr.
10-801-136 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 1 ...learners develop knowledge/skills in planning, organizing, writing, editing. Students will also analyze audience/purpose, use elements of research, format documents using standard guidelines, and develop critical reading skills. (Prerequisite: Accuplacer-Sentence Skills =75 AND Accuplacer-Reading =55 OR ACT-English =16 AND ACT Reading =15 OR 77-851-759; BE Communication Prep IIB OR 10-831-103, Intro to College Writing with "C" or better OR equivalent) 3 cr.
10-809-172 RACE ETHNIC & DIVERSITY ...basic American values of justice and equality by teaching vocabulary, history of immigration/conquest, transcultural communication, legal liability, multicultural majority/minority relations, ageism, sexism, gender, sexual orientation, the disabled/ADA. (Prerequisite: Accuplacer-Sentence Skills= 60 AND Accuplacer-Reading =55 OR ACT-English =16 AND ACT Reading =15 OR 77-851-759 BE Communication Prep IIB OR 77-858-759 BE Reading Prep IIB w/ a "C" or better) 3 cr.
10-809-195 ECONOMICS ...scarcity, resources, alternative economic systems, growth, supply and demand, monetary and fiscal policy, inflation, unemployment, and global economic issues. (Prerequisite: Accuplacer-Sentence Skills= 60 AND Accuplacer-Reading =55 OR ACT-English =16 AND ACT Reading =15 OR 77-851-759 BE Communication Prep IIB OR 77-858-759 BE Reading Prep IIB w/ a "C" or better) 3 cr.
10-801-196 ORAL/INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION ...the communication process, perception and self-concept, language, listening, nonverbal communication, interpersonal relationships, communication in groups and public communication; prepare and deliver an oral presentation. (Prerequisite: Accuplacer- Reading =55 OR ACT- Reading =15 OR 77-858-759, BE Reading Prep IIB with "C" or better OR equivalent) 3 cr.
10-809-199 PSYCHOLOGY OF HUMAN RELATIONS ...decision making, motivation, conflict resolution, learning strategies, growth and adjustment, diversity, psychological theories, relationships, psychological disorders, stress, career analysis, social psychology, and lifespan development. (Prerequisite: Accuplacer-Sentence Skills =60 AND Accuplacer-Reading =55 OR ACT-English =16 AND ACT Reading =15 OR 77-851-759 BE Communication Prep IIB OR 77-858-759 BE Reading Prep IIB w/ a "C" or better) 3 cr.