Wine industry job fair connects employers with workers in Benton Harbor

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. (WNDU) – Lake Michigan College hosted a wine industry job fair Wednesday at the Welch Center for Wine and Viticulture, connecting local wineries with job seekers for positions ranging from vineyard work to tasting room roles.

The event brought together employers and students from the college’s wine and viticulture program.

“We’re the only program of our type. Everything you’re seeing here, it really only exists in the Midwest here in Benton Harbor. In about 18 to 24 months, our students learn all aspects of the wine business from vineyard to the winemaking process to learning how to speak about and sell wines in the tasting room as well,” said Tim Godfrey, director of LMC Wine and Viticulture Technology.

John Braganini, owner of St. Julian Winery & Distillery, said the college offers training he values.

“This is an outstanding program. I’m actually a student here. I’m studying in their winemaking program just to enhance my skills, but more importantly, to gain a greater sense of appreciation for what they’re doing here. They have a full-fledged craft winery here. The students are outstanding. The faculty is outstanding. And if a young person, or really any age group, if they want to study winemaking, and they want to sharpen their skills in viticulture or in enology, this is the place to go,” Braganini said.

The program emphasizes hands-on training. Megan Coultas, a viticulture student at Lake Michigan College, said students work directly with wine production.

“A wine that we made here at Lake Michigan Vintners was a Blanc de Noir, which is a white from a red grape, which was fun to see the extraction of color from the Pinot Noir,” Coultas said.

Amy Birk, a winemaker for Domaine Berrien Cellars, said the hands-on approach benefits students.

“Lake Michigan College is fantastic because it allows for a lot of hands-on education. That is the one thing that I find most people benefit most from the wine industry. You can learn from a textbook only so much until you’re actually getting your hands in the grapes, crushing them, squishing them, feeling and learning how to operate the equipment. That is where the true learning really begins,” Birk said.

Coultas said she is seeking winemaking positions after completing the program.

“I’m hoping after the program I could land some winemaking role, whether that’s a winemaking assistant or just an intern somewhere,” Coultas said.

Birk said the fair connected her with candidates.

“This has been a fantastic experience being here. I have gotten to meet some fantastic candidates and some fantastic people, and I cannot say enough great things about this fair. I’m just very happy and I hope Tim keeps doing it in the future,” Birk said.

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