This year marks 50 years since the winery was established at Charles Sturt University’s Wagga Wagga campus which has produced award-winning products and graduates making meaningful impacts in the industry.

The first wine science degree was offered from 1975 through The Riverina College of Advanced Education, Charles Sturt’s predecessor institute, as a response to demand from the industry for a degree with technical depth.

The winery is primarily a research facility for staff and students in Wagga Wagga and makes wines for academic projects, government institutions, private industry and commercial sale, which can be tasted and purchased via the Cellar Door.

Winemaker Mr Johnny Clark with the Gulbali Institute for Agriculture, Water and Environment has been at the award-winning Charles Sturt Winery for five-and-a-half years.

He said the winery offers an invaluable learning resource for students and research facility.

“The winery provides an area where academics and students can test and analyse berry samples, juice and finished wine,” he said.

“It helps prove and de-bunk theories, contributes to long-term data collection and opens a window to students on what hopefully is a life-long vocation.”

Johnny estimates that half of the winemakers currently working in Australia have graduated from Charles Sturt.

“Over this half-century we have seen so many technical advances in wine making – in microbiology, wine chemistry and winery engineering,” he said.

“Australia has been at the forefront … and much of the Australian contribution has happened here at Charles Sturt.

“We are proud of our work and our people - students, alumni and academics … so we should celebrate that.”

Professor of Oenology with the School of Agricultural, Environmental and Veterinary Sciences in Wagga Wagga Dr Leigh Schmidtke has been with Charles Sturt for more than 23 years. His focus is on research programs where winemaking is a requirement to demonstrate the impact of experiments in vineyards.

The teaching of wine science and viticulture at the campus commenced in the mid 1970s and has played an important role in the University’s teaching program.

Charles Sturt currently offers the Bachelor of Viticulture, Bachelor of Wine Science, Bachelor of Wine Business and postgraduate options with specialty focuses on viticulture and oenology through the School of Agricultural, Environmental and Veterinary Sciences.

The Gulbali Institute currently has multiple wine science research projects, including the impact of metal ions on wine quality.

The Gulbali Institute recently received $7.94 million in funding to lead a Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry project to better prepare winemakers, apple and cherry producers for drought in central western and southern NSW and Tasmania.

The project will strengthen viticulture and horticulture resilience and research trials will take place in various winegrape, apple and cherry producing regions in Orange and southern NSW.

While the equipment might be smaller, the University’s winery functions the same as a commercial winery.

“Having a functional winery equipped similar to that present in a commercial winery enables students to see and do aspects of wine making in a life-like environment,” Leigh said.

“This is especially helpful for students who are not employed in commercial winery operations and provides a lived experience of winemaking.”

The size of the winery has decreased over the years, but Leigh said it has not diminished its teaching capacity.

The vineyards used to span across more than 30 hectares, including vineyards at Charles Sturt in Orange, and employed five full-time staff in Wagga Wagga.

The focus has shifted from commercial to a small boutique business that largely serves the winemaking role for research projects.

“This 50-year milestone demonstrates Charles Sturt’s commitment to serving the wine making industry of the nation,” Leigh said.

“We have students and graduates from all over Australia and have taught many winemakers who have made significant industry achievements.”

An alumnus from the first cohort of graduates, Mr Chris Pfeiffer of Pfeiffer Wines in Rutherglen, will be returning to where it all began for him later this month to help educate the next generation of winemakers.

Chris will be presenting at the Wine Production Intensive School in Wagga Wagga on Thursday 28 August.

Mr William Stephen is currently studying a Bachelor of Applied Science (Viticulture and Oenology) at Charles Sturt in Wagga Wagga. Originally from Melbourne, William moved to Wangaratta five years ago and is already working in the industry after previously completing a TAFE Diploma in Viticulture.

William is self-employed as a viticulturist, providing vineyard services from pruning and tractor operations to technical advice. He has worked as a vineyard hand, supervisor, manager and viticulturist.

He enrolled at Charles Sturt because he wanted to contribute more to the industry and expand his career opportunities.

“Viticulture offered all the things I enjoy - outdoors, machinery, plants and the wine,” he said.

“Wine is essentially a work of art, often created by a dedicated team of professionals.

“I enjoy agriculture and the wine community is really just a bunch of farmers at the end of the day.”

William said working with Johnny has offered him new and interesting perspectives and the University’s lab and winery are good examples of what he has seen in the field.

He is set to graduate in 2025 and plans to grow his business and contribute to the Northeast Victorian wine industry.

“The degree at Charles Sturt is a great networking opportunity, which brings like-minded people together at similar stages of their careers,” he said.

“The knowledge gained in the degree is easily applied in the field and will support continuous improvement in the Australian wine industry.”