Our Faculty
Douglas Adams, Ph.D., is a professor in the Department of Viticulture and Enology at UC Davis and an associate biochemist at the Agriculture Experiment Station. His research is related to the biochemstiry of fruit ripening in grapes and the physiological and environmental factors that influence fruit composition. His most recent work has been aimed at understanding the tannin composition of red wine grape varieties and how they combine with pigments during winemaking.
Linda F. Bisson, Ph.D., is a professor in the Department of Viticulture and Enology at UC Davis. She is trained as a yeast geneticist and physiologist. She is the holder of the prestigious Maynard A. Amerine Endowed Chair.
Margaret Davenport began her career in the wine industry in 1980 at Simi Winery, Healdsburg, California, as a harvest lab technician. Ms. Davenport enrolled in the MS program at UC Davis in 1981, completing her thesis on yeast vitamin requirements in 1985. She made sparkling wine at Wente Brothers in Livermore from 1983 – 1986, then became an assistant winemaker at Clos du Bois. She rose to Vice-President, Director of Winemaking and retired in 2003 to launch her consulting business and start her own brand, Davenport and Company.
Jill Davis has been making wine professionally in Sonoma County and the Napa valley for the past 25 years at wineries ranging in size from 500 cases to 200,000 cases. She holds a degree in Fermentation Science from UC Davis. Her wines are widely respected and have received many awards. Throughout her career she has been a frequent lecturer on wine and wine production.
Hildegarde Heymann is a professor in the Department of Viticulture and Enology at UC Davis.
Ralph Kunkee, Ph.D., is an emeritus professor of enology, having been active as a wine microbiologist in the Department of Viticulture and Enology at UC Davis for several decades. He is the author or co-author of some 150 research papers and of two practical winery textbooks. He has been awarded the Annual Research Lectureship and the Merit Award by the American Society for Enology and Viticulture and is a Fellow of the American Society for the Advancement of Science.
James T. Lapsley, Ph.D., has worked as a continuing education specialist at UC Davis Extension for more than 25 years. He is the author of Bottled Poetry, a history of fine wine production in California and is the former owner of a small winery in Woodland, California. Along with Kirby Moulton, Ph.D., he co-authored the wine economics book, Successful Wine Marketing, which won an international book prize for wine.
Felipe Laurie, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of Enology at the School of Agricultural Sciences of Universidad de Talca, in Chile. He teaches undergraduate and graduate level courses in wine production and wine chemistry. He is an associate researcher of the Grape and Wine Technology Center of Universidad de Talca, and conducts research in the areas of non-enzimatic oxidation, natural products of wines, and the effects of production practices in wine composition and quality.
Bryan Parker, Ph.D., has been the winemaker at Alderbrook Winery since 2003. He previously held winery positions at Harford Court Winery as a harvest intern, Beringer Vineyards as research enologist and Pine Ridge Winery as assistant winemaker. Parker has also served on several committees, including those for Unified Symposium and American Vineyard Foundation.
David F. Stevens, M.S., is a senior consultant at Davon International and has authored multiple publications. He has held winery positions at Domaine Chandon as associate winemaker and at Bouchain Vineyards as a winemaker.
Grady Wann, Ph.D., is the program director for the Winemaking Certificate Program for Online Learners. He has previously taught courses on the chemistry of winemaking and organic chemistry. Wann spent the last 22 years as a research enologist, winemaker and consultant.
Andrew Waterhouse, Ph.D., is a professor in the Department of Viticulture and Enology at UC Davis.
If you have a question about the content of the courses or how to proceed through the program, please feel free to send an email or call (530) 757-8899.
