Award made at azcentral Arizona Wine Competition November 15 at the Westin Kierland Resort & Spa in Phoenix
Yavapai College’s Southwest Wine Center, won the Best In Show for its 2018 Viogner wine at the azcentral Arizona Wine Competition on November 15 at the Westin Kierland Resort & Spa in Phoenix. The award made it the top wine in the statewide competition. The white wine is made from grapes grown on the Verde Valley Campus and processed in the on-campus winery.
Michael Pierce, the director of enology at thet Wine Center, told Arizona Republic reporter Richard Ruelas that the award was unexpected. However, he said the quality of the student-made wine should not be a surprise.
“There’s no excuse not to make a good product with how much energy the students bring,” he said Friday night, moments after the announcement. “We’ve got a nice (vineyard) site. We’ve got nice facilities. You’ve just got to put those together and support one another and you’ll get a good product.”
The Center won the Growers Cup for Best Rosé in the 2017 contest and has received other medals for its wines in previous years. It received a number of medals for its various wines. For example, in January 2019 it received a double gold medal for its Patada 2017 wine, a silver medal for its Malvasika Bianca 2017 wine, and a bronze medal for its Graciano 2017 and Red Storm 2017 wine.
One of the issues the Yavapai Community College Governing Board was asked to consider at the November 2019 meeting was the increasing mental health needs of students attending the institution. According to the National Alliance of Mental Illness, nearly 1 in 5 adults experience mental illness of some kind each year.
At the November meeting, Third District Yavapai Community College Governing Board member Paul Chevalier continued his effort to encourage greater discussion of important Community College issues among Governing Board members. He argued that if the Board engaged in extended discussion it would be possible to arrive at a consensus on a particular issue.
In a story written by Bill Helm, which appeared in the November 14, 2019 Verde Independent, the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) auditors have discovered questionable costs at the Valley Academy for Career and Technology Education located in Cottonwood totaling $638,716 for fiscal years 2011-2016. According to the story, “ADE Public Information Officer Stefan Swiat . . . is not certain whether the Valley Academy will be asked to repay the $426,451” the State has already paid back to the Federal Government.
The state of Arizona has indicated to veterans that Yavapai Community College will provide the support they need if they pursue higher education at that institution. The recognition came as the College was designated as a “Veterans Supportive Campus” by the Arizona Department of Veterans Services (AZDVS).
The Yavapai Community College Governing Board will hold its regular Governing Board meeting this Tuesday, November 12, 2019 beginning at 1 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Chino Valley Yavapai Community College Agribusiness & Science Technology Center.
