Author: Jeffrey Wheeler
Planning Unit: Horticulture
Major Program: Local Food Systems
Outcome: Long-Term Outcome
Laura Cleary began her journey into the field of wine as an undergraduate student studying Food Science at UK. She began taking classes in Enology and Viticulture starting in 2014 and received a Certificate in Distillation, Wine and Brewing from UK in 2016. Laura served as a Viticulture and Enology Research Technician at the UKHRF from 2016-2017, where she learned to both work in the vineyard as well as performing laborotory analysis on both juice and wine. Laura moved on from this position at UK to take a job as Vineyard Manager for Hempridge Vineyard in Waddy, KY from 2017-2018. Laura was then recruited by Tim Wright at Wise Bird Cider Co. in Lexington to become his assistant Cidermaker starting in 2018. The quality of cider now being poured at Wise Bird can be highly attributed to Laura's natural talent, her hard work, and from her experiences working with the UK Viticulture and Enology Team.
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