The award-winning Fresno State Winery’s biggest event of the semester, the Taste of Spring, will be open to the public from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., Thursday, April 19, at the winery (2360 E. Barstow Ave.)

Guests can take tours of the winery, enjoy live music and appetizers, and visit with winery staff and Fresno State Viticulture and Enology Department students. Those attending can also participate in a white wine sangria tasting competition between three student assistant winemakers.

The public can also taste and buy a highly-anticipated and limited release sherry at the event. Five other wines will also be available for tasting, and those attending can sign up for the Fresno State Wine Club, which offers several money-saving plans.

Event registration is available online through April 17 for $10 to the public and wine club members, or $15 at the event for the public.

“We’re extremely proud that the Fresno Bee recently honored our winery with its People’s Choice Award for the fourth straight year, so this is a great chance to sample our wines and learn how they are made by our winemaker and students,” said Kevin Smith, the winery’s marketing director. “We have had a great summer and fall of production, so we are excited about the new white wines that we will be unveiling, and we will have some of our favorite red wines, too. We appreciate our loyal Central Valley customers who have supported our wide selection of wines at a competitive price point.”

The event is the first official opportunity on campus to meet new winemaker Tom Montgomery, who joined the winery in July 2017. The Fresno State alumnus and Sanger native has honed a reputation for crafting award-winning Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Bordeaux varieties for well-known wineries in Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley for almost 40 years.

Fresno State’s viticulture and enology program in the Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology was the nation’s first bonded commercial winery to operate on a university campus. Fresno State wines have won over 600 awards since the license was obtained in 1997.

The Fresno State Winery also sells its student products at the Rue and Gwen Gibson Farm Market on campus and at various area retail establishments.

More event information is available at or 559.278.6070 or winery_info@mail.fresnostate.edu.