File photo by Shaun Ho / The Collegian

Her hands were stained dirt-purple after a long day of hard work. People looked at her funny and questioned why she hadn̢۪t washed up.

Kristine Austin’s reply, “I work in the wine business.â€Â

Most customers walk into Fresno State̢۪s farm market and see beautifully designed wine bottles with colorful labels containing anything from shiraz to cabernet sauvignon. After they enjoy the flavors of the wine, they have no idea that they̢۪ve just tasted a year̢۪s worth of long-hours and laborious days of work done by students and faculty.

Austin started working toward her certificate in Fresno State̢۪s enology program in fall 2007. Austin, along with 24 other students who work for Fresno State̢۪s winery, enjoys the long hours and the hard work provided behind each wine that̢۪s delivered, fermented, aged and bottled.

“There are a lot of minute details that can cause huge expensive problems,â€Â Austin said. “I’ve heard stories.â€Â

Kenneth Fugelsang, the winemaster educator for the department of viticulture and enology, said that many people who haven’t been in the wine business or come from wine families — such as wine writers, members of the media and people who attend events — only see the end result.

“They have to learn the front side,â€Â Fugelsang said. “It’s not uncommon here for students to be onsite for 18 to 20 hours during harvest because the fruit continues to come in.â€Â

Fresno State gets its grapes from the San Joaquin Valley. The main regional source comes from Stanislaus County. The grapes are up to three and a half hours away by truck and don̢۪t arrive until 4 p.m.

When the grapes arrive, they are placed on a big, treadmill-like belt conveyor, where students stand on each side. The students search for rot, debris, leaves and off-colored grapes.

The grapes for red wine are put through a de-stemmer, which is a machine that crushes them into little berries and slightly presses the grape skins and seeds so that the color comes out. Then, they̢۪re put into bins and get ready for fermentation.

The grapes for white wine go into a wine press. The wine press contains a bladder that squeezes the grapes̢۪ juice into open slots, which lead to the bottom of the wine press. A hose connects the wine press to a tank where the fermentation begins.

The winery has two-dozen tanks that range anywhere from 300 to 5,000 gallons. The wine is stored there during fermentation, when the sugar in the grapes is converted into alcohol.

Once the red grapes have started fermenting, the seeds and the skins, which are called pumice, get forced to the top of the tank.

After the students drain the tanks, they have to shovel out the pumice for one last squeeze.

“Most of the active winemakers in this business are 50 years or younger,â€Â Fugelsang said. “By the time you get past that, you’re like the old athlete.â€Â

Harvest season starts the second week of August and ends in the last week of October.

The students are brought three tons of grapes during each harvest season. Annually, they will produce 250 tons to about 20 different varietals of wine.