The Southern Oregon Wine Institute (SOWI) was established in 2008 at Umpqua Community College. With a mission to serve the wineries of Southern Oregon as a resource for skilled winery workers, the Danny Lang Teaching, Learning & Event Center was created. The SOWI facilities are accessible to the wine industry community and continue to raise the profile of the wine-growing regions that surround it.

This state-of-the-art facility includes a living laboratory of student-cultivated vineyards, a well-designed gravity flow crush pad, a temperature controlled cellar (ideal for barrel aging) and essential equipment needed for transferring, filtering and packaging wine. All of this is included in SOWI’s incubator program, which allows start-up wineries to produce high quality wines, while putting their start-up capital where it is really needed. Besides serving as a venue to pour SOWI’s award winning wines, the SOWI tasting room offers amazing views, and space available to the public to rent for special events.