Claire Lapp (above), sophomore at Yamhill-Carlton High School and assistant vice president of Yamhill-Carlton FFA, harvests grapes from the high school’s on-campus vineyard, the only of its kind in the United States.
When September rolls around, it’s all hands on deck for the Yamhill-Carlton FFA annual grape harvest. Every fall, FFA members and agriculture students from the school, located 30 miles west of Portland, Ore., harvest grapes by hand in their own vineyard on school property. Yamhill-Carlton boasts the only vineyard in Oregon – and possibly the nation – that is planted and managed by high school students. The vineyard is the centerpiece of Yamhill-Carlton High School’s innovative and unique viticulture program.
“As far as I know, our high school’s viticulture program is the only one of its kind. Vineyards are very important to our area; our local wineries have made us a tourist destination,” says Jared Collins, Yamhill-Carlton High School agriculture teacher and FFA advisor. “People come here for wine tastings, and many locals are employed by vineyards and wineries.”
Yamhill-Carlton’s viticulture program started in 2013 when local winery Ken Wright Cellars, Chemeketa Community College and Yamhill-Carlton American Viticulture Area partnered with the high school to help students learn about the cultivation and harvesting of grapes.
“We have a great relationship with Ken Wright Cellars, and they wanted to start getting kids excited about working in vineyards while still in high school,” Collins says. “They also wanted to give students job opportunities by employing them right here in our own community.”
Yamhill-Carlton High School’s vineyard covers about an acre, and agriculture students help with trimming vines, testing soil, and pruning and harvesting grapes. The grapes are sent to Ken Wright Cellars and made into wine, which is sold as a fundraiser for the Yamhill-Carlton FFA. All proceeds are used to sustain the school’s viticulture program.
“I love when the time of year comes around when we all get to be a part of the harvesting process,” says Olivia Davison, Yamhill-Carlton FFA president. “Another thing we do is take a trip to Ken Wright Cellars and learn about all the steps put into producing a good wine. I was involved in creating the labels that go onto our wine bottles. Along with testing the soil, we get to test pH and sugar levels in the grapes so we know the best time to harvest.”
Colby Brault (left), recent graduate of Yamhill-Carlton High School, and Nole Lawson (right), junior at Yamhill-Carlton and reporter for Yamhill-Carlton FFA, take soil samples from around the vineyard to test nutrient levels for fertilizer calculations. The vineyard gives students valuable, hands-on learning experiences.
The custom-made Pinot Noir is called Tiger Vines Wine, in honor of the Yamhill-Carlton high school mascot. The Pinot Noir has been offered since 2014, and in 2019, a rosé was added.
“Our community loves our wine. They say it’s a high-quality product,” Collins says. “We have a great alumni chapter that supports us, too. Alumni handle the finances for our viticulture program because the school cannot legally profit from the sale of wine. Our wine sales have to operate as a separate entity.”
The school’s vineyard typically produces 120 cases of wine each year, which totals 1,440 bottles. Mark Gould, the vineyard manager at Ken Wright Cellars, has been instrumental in making Yamhill-Carlton’s vineyard a success.
“Mark helps me teach the class and helps us establish when to apply fertilizer or chemicals,” Collins says. “The key to our vineyard’s success is great relationships. I feel fortunate to have so much support from Ken Wright Cellars, our alumni and our school administration. Everyone has a common goal.”
When students excel in the viticulture program, Collins can recommend them for a scholarship program and summer internship with Ken Wright Cellars so they can learn even more about making wine.
“We’ve had some students get really excited about viticulture,” Collins says. “My younger sister graduated from YC [Yamhill-Carlton], and she was part of starting the program here. She fell in love with the process and went to college for crops and soil science. She is now an agronomist who works with vineyards, and she credits our program for jump-starting her career.”
Activities like these are great to use in your chapter’s Program of activities. Activities involving support groups, such as alumni, or even activities to boost the economic development of the community are great ways to highlight your chapter’s achievements and involvement. For more information about program planning and activities visit, FFA.org/nationalchapter.
