Make It or Break It

I am in Enol 164 right not, and for those of you not attending Fresno State and who don't know what I'm talking about, that translates to ENOLOGY 164- Wine Production and Analysis.  In the past this class was taught by Prof. Fugelsang (who is commonly and affectionately refereed to as The Fuge [with a strong U]) but since he's retired it was taught this year by the current winemaker, John Giannini.  John is a fabulous teacher, overall, but the class has changed drastically because of the change in instructor.  When the Fuge taught the class, going out and working in the winery was in no way mandatory, but with John teaching each student is required to be out there 11 hours a week, which is what, in my opinion, makes this 6 unit class worth it.  Lecture mixed with actual winery work is exactly the type of class I've been waiting for in my college experience, but other students seem to want nothing to do with "cellar work."  I've heard comments such as "I'm a winemaker, not a cellar worker" and this makes me very disappointed in my classmates.  Our industry is one where 9 our of 10 times you probably aren't going to start out as Winemaker, but at a lower, more grunt-work oriented position. 

This is the make it  or break it point.  This is the class that will tell you if you have picked the right major or not.  Sure, winemaking sounds fun, easy, but it takes more than theoretical chemistry to do this kind of work.  Crush season is brutal, even on the winemaker (just ask my dad; he goes to work 7 days a week from 8 or 9 till 6 or 7 most days during the beginning of crush) and if you can't work a measly 11 hours a week in a small, school winery then how do you expect to survive a larger winery's crush?