A former alfalfa field on the Butte College campus has been transformed into a vineyard that will mean education and hands-on training for students, and could produce thousands of dollars annually for the school.

Butte College officials gathered Wednesday on the first 5.5 acres of what ultimately will grow to be a 10-acre vineyard of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Zinfandel and Muscat varietal grapes, east of the main campus drive, just south of the football stadium.

Butte College Trustee Lou Cecchi, who with his wife Yola owns the Long Creek Winery in Oroville, donated 6,000 vine cuttings to the college.

Butte College horticulture instructor Tip Wilmarth, who led the effort to put in the vineyard and will be the instructor for the college's viticulture program, said the donated cuttings saved the school $18,000.

Besides the newly established vineyard, another 4.5 acres of vines will be planted on the west side of the main campus road, directly opposite the 5.5 acres.

Wilmarth said the vines from Cecchi's winery should begin to produce heavily in two to three years.

Cecchi said he would anticipate the vines would produce three to five tons of grapes per acre, which, over the entire 10 acres, could mean up to 50 tons of grapes.

While the price of wine grapes fluctuates, Cecchi said the grapes should draw about $800 a ton by the time they are ready for commercial harvest.

Cecchi said, except for Fresno State University, which has a special exemption, public colleges and universities are prohibited by law from selling wine.

However, selling grapes is entirely another matter.

Wilmarth said the vineyard's grape production has already been spoken for. Even though no cash has changed hands, there is a "commitment," according to the instructor, to buy the grapes in sort of a "futures" context.

If the grapes sell at the predicted per-ton price, it could earn the college up to $40,000 a year.

Butte's president, Diana Van Der Ploeg, was not willing to exult in any potential new revenue source just yet.

"You never know where projects like this will go," said the president.

What she is excited about is the educational potential of the vineyards.

"It gives our students such an experience that they wouldn't have. It is just such a wonderful thing for our students and our college," said Van Der Ploeg.

Wilmarth, who is a member of the statewide curriculum committee for community colleges, prepared a 10-class session viticulture program that will be used at Butte and is being accepted as a model for other campuses.

Even though wine sales from Butte College vintage will most likely not be possible, Wilmarth said he expects a winemaking program will soon become part of the school's curriculum.

Cecchi and Wilmarth both said the vines should do particularly well in the Butte College vineyards because grape vines aren't too picky.

"The soil is a little bit better than most grapes expect," said Wilmarth.

He said the site of the college vineyard is a clay-heavy loam and he has to be careful with the amount of water going onto the plants, but "grapes will do well in marginal soil."

Cecchi said the "micro-climate" in the college area, and the surrounding Mesilla Valley, is "perfect for red varietal grapes."

He predicted the entire area around the college will "explode" with new commercial vineyards in the near future.

"In one year, you won't recognize what this field looks like," said Cecchi, pointing to the new vineyard.

At present, the vineyard is a pattern of 900-foot-long rows, with wires connected to posts to provide a lattice-work for the vines to climb, along with a drip irrigation system on each row.

At the end of a year, according to Cecchi, "You won't see any wire. It will all be covered with grapes."