On February 20, a battle was lost against cancer. Kenneth “Ken” Fugelsang, professor emeritus of enology and retired winemaster at the Fresno State Winery, died at the age of 70.

Mr. Fugelsang dedicated most of his professional life to the development and growth of the Fresno State viticulture and enology department as well as the entire wine industry. He had worked with Fresno State since 1972.

A colleague, Cynthia Wood, said Mr. Fugelsang was often called “The Winemaster” by his students because of his expertise. Wood had worked with Mr. Fugelsang since they met in 1981.

“He was doing something right,” Wood said. Mr. Fugelsang was a “brilliant man that taught a lot of the winemakers that are out there right now being successful,” she added.   

Wood described Mr. Fugelsang as a “gentle giant” — a man of substantial physical stature who was humble and quiet. She said he didn’t like to be the center of attention, but came alive in front of his students.

A former student and colleague, Alan Cannon, said Mr. Fugelsang was both a mentor and a friend. Cannon was a student of Mr. Fugelsang’s for three years and later worked with him for 15 years.

“He was a very learned man who always had time for students and colleagues,” Cannon said. “One of the coolest things for me, and others as his students, was that we got to take his production class and use the book that he helped co-write. It’s not very often that students learn from the person that wrote the book for the class that they are taking.”

The book Cannon referred to is Mr. Fugelsang’s “Wine Microbiology: Practical Applications and Procedures,” which he wrote with Charles Edwards from Washington State University. The book won the Prix de l’OIV award in 2007, an honor of international importance.

Fresno State President Dr. Joseph Castro in a statement to “Fresno State News” described Mr. Fugelsang as an exemplary professor and mentor.

“He taught and directed hundreds of students in the science and art of winemaking and was a key player in establishing the Fresno State Winery, the first university winery licensed to produce, bottle and sell wine,” Castro said. “Fresno State viticulture and enology students in particular and the wine industry and its connoisseurs in general are the benefactors of Ken’s expertise and guidance in this field.”

Ann Fugelsang, Mr. Fugelsang’s wife, said that although he dedicated a lot of his time to Fresno State, he was a devoted family man. She said he enjoyed going on vacations on special days and weekends to Disneyland.

“Everything centered around family for him. He was an incredible father and husband. He always put us first in everything. Anything we wanted to do, he was there. He worked hard,” Ann Fugelsang said.

She said her husband was highly respected by everyone, very kind, very gentle, and very family orientated.

“If you met him once, you just never forgot him. He was just that kind of guy,” Ann Fugelsang said.

Mr. Fugelsang is survived by his wife, Ann, and son, Jeffrey. According to “Fresno State News,” a celebration of his life will be held later this spring.