Grape Expectations

The blueberries were suffering. 

It was the summer of 2022, and Amelia Lyons was working at Sweet Acre Farms, a Georgia vineyard specializing in fruit wines. While Lyons was fixing the vineyard’s irrigation for a dry summer, she noticed that small, dark red spots had appeared on the blueberries.

While searching for a solution, she came across a peer-reviewed paper from the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) that addressed the exact disease she was trying to treat. The blueberries had a fungus called anthracnose, and she was able to help manage the problem using a fungicide recommended in the paper.

“I got really into it,” she recalls. “I had my lightbulb moment right then and decided what I wanted to do: I wanted to study agriculture at UGA.” 

Lyons’ path to UGA was a winding one.

She began college at University of North Georgia’s Oakwood campus, and switched majors a few times before realizing she needed a break.

During her time off from college, she managed a restaurant in Lula when she met the owners of Sweet Acre Farms, who often dined there. Lyons ended up talking with them quite a bit, and their conversations led to a job offer.

At age 23, Lyons entered UGA in the spring as a third-year student where she is working toward a bachelor’s degree in agriscience and environmental systems. In the summer of 2023, she was selected to intern at Stonewall Creek Winery in Tiger, Georgia as part of UGA’s internship program.

This summer, she’ll be working at Blue Cielo Farms Vineyards and Winery near Elberton as well as helping the owners finish building a winery in Commerce. Lyons hopes that will turn into a full-time job after she graduates.

Learning among the vines

The Winegrowers of Georgia Internship program is a collaboration between UGA and Georgia wine producer associations. Students apply and interview for paid internships where they study viticulture and enology (the science and study of wine and winemaking) with Georgia winery owners while fulfilling the university’s experiential learning requirement.

The internship began in 2007, and each year four CAES students are selected based on an essay and an interview process. Each intern receives hourly compensation from their host vineyard and a $1,500 stipend from CAES.

Once placed at a winery, students dive right in cultivating and thinning grapevines during the summer. In the fall, they learn to harvest, crush, and ferment the grapes. Experiences change based on the operation, but many interns gain experience in vineyard pest and disease control, as well as barrel aging, bottling, and marketing.

Last summer, Autumn Girardin, worked at Engleheim Vineyards in Ellijay. An agribusiness and horticulture major, she plans to open a botanical business with an accompanying small vineyard. 

“Having the vineyard surrounded by the gardens could have subtle influences on the terroir [the combination of soil and climate that give wines their unique flavor] and development of the grapes, which could produce wines with more complexity,” she explains.

Girardin has always wanted to own her own business, and she was fairly certain she wanted it to be related to agriculture. During the coronavirus pandemic, she noticed that vineyards, as businesses, remained relatively stable despite the upheaval caused by the virus. “And the more I learned about viticulture, the more I fell in love with every aspect of it,” she says. 

A growing industry

The UGA Cooperative Extension Viticulture Team welcomed a new expert this summer. Sarah Lowder joined CAES in June as an assistant professor and viticulture Extension specialist.

Originally from Charlotte, North Carolina, Lowder received her undergraduate degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, then earned her doctorate in plant pathology at Oregon State University. 

Her key tasks as an Extension specialist are adapting management practices for vineyards in the Southeast, finding grape varieties best suited for the state, and preventing and managing plant diseases. This spring, she taught a new undergraduate course on viticulture production and management this spring, and she’s traveling to Italy in May to be an instructor in UGA’s viticulture and enology study abroad program. 

Lowder arrived just in time, as Georgia’s wine industry continues to rapidly expand. The state generated more than $5 billion in vineyard-related revenue in 2022, according to the National Association of Wine Growers 2022 Economic Impact Study. And the industry’s impact can be felt throughout the state, helping create and fuel jobs in industries from farming to banking and manufacturing to advertising. 

The Georgia wine industry included close to 80 producers in 2022, and directly employed nearly 21,000 workers, according to the study. It also created approximately 7,500 jobs in supplier and ancillary industries.

The wineries are also a major tourist draw, generating almost 300,000 visits and more than $84 million in annual tourism expenditures.

While Georgia’s wine industry isn’t as developed as those in California and Oregon, Lowder says that UGA students get a well-rounded education studying in state.

“The industry is small, but it’s young and growing with all of the challenges that come with that. Students get to be a part of that growth, which can be a more lasting learning experience.” Lowder says. Due to the climate, Georgia grapes struggle with more diseases, and growers have to navigate other challenges like late spring frosts, she explains.

“There is a lot to learn and figure out, so students get more diverse experiences and issues to deal with. That’s always a good learning environment.”

In addition to learning about Georgia winemaking, students can also participate in UGA’s viticulture and enology study away program in Cortona, Italy. Girardin and Elaine Showman, another summer intern, participated in the program in 2022.

A day in the life of a wine intern

Amelia Lyons lived in a small guest house on the property of Stonewall Creek Vineyards last summer, immersing her in the work and helping her get to know the owners well.

Mark and Sandy Diehl bought the nearly 20-year-old Stonewall Creek in 2018. Both retired physicians, they started making wine at home in 2007. Over the years, they won several amateur winemaking awards and learned a lot in the process.

Stonewall Creek has hosted four UGA interns, and the Diehls have enjoyed their experience. “Amelia has been great,” Mark says. “She’s smart, and she has experience making wine. She asks different questions and understands more.”

While summer work is primarily focused on the vineyard, Lyons also helped with bottling, testing, and analysis, something she has experience in from her time at Sweet Acre Farms.

Lyons has four siblings, all with degrees from UGA. She is a triplet and used to having lots of family around, so it was an adjustment living and working at the vineyard. But the Diehls let her bring her dog, Avett, who is her constant companion and “had the time of his life,” laughs Lyons.

He ran beside her golf cart as she moved from one set of vines to the next, doing whatever task was needed that day. Most of her work involved vineyard maintenance, which included erecting trellis and irrigation equipment, pruning and training vines, and controlling pests and diseases with regular spraying. She hopes to continue making wine after graduation and plans to stay in Georgia.

The days could be long and hot, but Lyons relished the work. She even listened to podcasts about wine while she worked in the vineyard.

“One thing I’ve heard universally on these winemaking podcasts is that winemaking is an art,” she says. “It’s not just the wine I’m making or the weeds I’m pulling. You start with a seed, then plant it, grow it, and you’re there with it every step of the way. Eventually, you have a product you serve to people, and generally, they love it. It’s very rewarding.”