New Director of Viticulture and Enology Garrett Portra has a vision for tapping into the Western Slope’s unique ability to grow grapes and create wine.
The location of CMU and CMU Tech, next to the heart of Colorado Wine Country, places the university in a unique position to provide students with the opportunity to learn the ins and outs of wine making and grape growing through the CMU Tech Viticulture and Enology program. Colorado’s wine industry is one of the fastest-growing and unique areas of agri-business in the state. With about 150 wineries and more than 1,000 acres of vineyards, the business of growing grapes (viticulture) and making wine (enology) plays an increasingly important role in the state and local economies. This year, CMU Tech has brought in a vital member of the wine business to run the program.
Garrett Portra, director of Viticulture and Enology and owner of Carlson Vineyards in Palisade, Colorado, brings skills to the table that will help students learn and grow in a new way. Portra, a graduate from Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, moved to Colorado in 2007. He got his foot into the wine industry door when he got a job at Carlson Vineyards in 2011 while navigating the career choices laid out in front of him: oil and gas, nursing or wine making and selling.
Portra’s first job with the vineyard was as a cellar assistant, learning the tricks of the trade behind wine-making. His loyalty and passion for the business accelerated, and in 2014, he was approached by the past owner to purchase Carlson Vineyards, propelling him into the entrepreneurial side of the industry.
Stepping into this new role at CMU Tech is just one of the many ways Portra has pushed himself and his skills, expanding on a lifetime of passion stemming from a generational passion for agriculture.
“My family has a century farm in Central Missouri. It’s been generational run by our family, and I grew up as the oldest working that farm. My love for agriculture kind of led me to my love for wine.”
The opportunity to step into a new role was one Portra knew he couldn’t pass up. When you are directly involved in generations of agriculture, you know the importance of carrying on tradition, and he is doing so both through Carlson Vineyards and now CMU Tech.
“I get to continue to maintain and push the legacy of Parker and Mary Carlson, and I’ll get to be a part of helping CMU really create a robust V&E program. It was a good opportunity for me to get to put a stamp on the industry itself through CMU students,” he shared.
Today, he still feels like a student in his own classroom, but Portra has already enjoyed the process of seeing passionate students come into the program with the eagerness to learn.
“I never thought I’d see myself in higher education. I always just thought I’d be an entrepreneur doing my own thing, but I think I’m super excited getting to mesh the two, and you know, hopefully use that entrepreneurial spirit to grow a program that CMU’s proud of.”
The Viticulture and Enology program at CMU Tech is designed to provide students with the technical and entrepreneurial skills necessary for the management of a profitable and environmentally sound vineyard or wine-making business. Students learn the fundamentals of sustainable viticulture and focus on plants suitable for Colorado. From learning the basics of fermentation and the wine production cycle to wine sensory analysis and how to discern good wine, students can now tap into Portra’s expertise as both an entrepreneur and a lecturer. The value of vocational and technical education is not missed on Portra. Living here on the Western Slope has led him to see how important CMU is to the community, and vice versa.
“If you want a successful community, you look at the university and the education it provides to so many people all over, but especially the Western Slope, it just seems like a good spot to put time in,” he said.
When a passion like Portra’s meets a purpose like leading the next generation of winemakers and growers, something important takes root and blossoms. His role at CMU Tech will help root CMU Tech and students deeper in the community, a sentiment echoed by President and CEO of the Palisade Chamber of Commerce Jessica Burford.