An award-winning winemaker will head Kent State Ashtabula’s wine degree program—the only one in the state—this fall.

Edward Trebets, a 12-year veteran of the wine industry, will join the regional campus as a full-time faculty member for the program’s two associate degree programs.

Trebets holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and a master’s degree in education. He most recently worked as a winemaker at Debonne Vineyards and Grand River Cellars in Madison.

He was awarded more than 950 medals, as well as 14 Best of Show for his wines in competitions ranging from the Great Lakes Wine Competition and the Finger Lakes International to the Florida State Fair and the Los Angeles County Fair, according to an Aug. 4 university news release.

“You can only become good at it if you are completely involved in the process,” Trebets said in the news release. “My goal is to give students a good classroom experience but also to allow them to experience the craft at a hands-on level.”

The wine degree program at Kent State was established in 2011.

Courses in viticulture and eunology are offered in a hybrid format: students complete coursework online and attend classes in-person twice a semester. Hands-on training and internships at local wineries and vineyards are also available for students.

“With a statewide program, it’s very important to us to recruit some of the nation’s best winemakers to teach students in the program, said Susan Stocker, dean and chief administrative officer of Kent State Ashtabula, in the news release. “We want Ohio wineries to be competitive on a national level, and offering the area’s future winemakers the best possible education helps ensure that.”

Contact Alex Delaney-Gesing at [email protected].