![\"FILE](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1200270a-7b0e-4f53-b226-b677c14cd8c8-large16x9_GibsonFarmMarketWine.jpg\"\/)
<\/p>\nFRESNO, Calif. (FOX26) \u2014 There\u2019s plenty to toast about when it comes to Fresno State.<\/p>\n
And in one department, students are doing so– with wine they actually produced.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re making, what I would call, world-class wines at school. They\u2019re doing this while they\u2019re getting their education,\u201d says Tom Montgomery, winemaker for the Fresno State Winery.<\/p>\n
Fresno State is the first university in the country to have a commercial winery on campus.<\/p>\n
Many of those working on the wine are also pursuing degrees in Enology\u2014the scientific study of wine.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think at the beginning, for some, it\u2019s a curiosity factor. But there are some of those who know, this is what they want to do,\u201d Montgomery says.<\/p>\n
Students learn everything from growing grapes to microbiology.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re pulling samples once or twice a week during harvest, running full chem analysis,\u201d says Diego Mantelli, a Junior at Fresno State.<\/p>\n
They also bottle the wine\u2014and market it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s 100 percent student-run,\u201d says Adison Todd, who is studying sales and marketing. \u201cLearning all of the aspects that go into a winery prepping me for my career.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even at a time when the industry is struggling.<\/p>\n
A 2025 report from The Wine Institute found U.S. wine exports dropped by 35 percent.<\/p>\n
In Northern California alone, four wineries have announced closures or layoffs just this year.<\/p>\n
But bottle by bottle these students are determined to turn things around.<\/p>\n
The students produced 21 different varieties in 2025 \u2013 winning two double golds, a gold, two silvers and a bronze at the recent San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt took my family a while to understand I\u2019m actually working at a winery,\u201d says Clara Trenado, a Freshman at Fresno State. \u201cWine is something that\u2019s been around thousands of years — and it\u2019s going to be around thousands more. I just want to be part of that little bit that goes into the growing of vineyards.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even as Trenado and others can\u2019t actually buy the wine they\u2019re producing.<\/p>\n
They\u2019re not 21 years old yet.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve spit out some of the most expensive wines in the world, and I\u2019m proud of it,\u201d Mantelli said.<\/p>\n
Montgomery says Fresno State Enology grads are in demand.<\/p>\n
He says one student who will be graduating this spring already has four job offers\u2014and plans to work in Napa Valley.<\/p>\n
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FILE – Wine produces at Fresno State on sale at the Gibson Farm Market{ } (Photo: Christina Lopez\/FOX26)<\/p>\n