Dr. Federico Casassa has received a B.S. in viticulture and an M.S. in enology from the School of Agriculture in Mendoza and a Ph.D. in wine chemistry and sensory analysis from Washington State University. He is an associate professor of enology at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. His published research focuses on the effects of regulated deficit irrigation and variations of berry size in grapes and wines and cluster thinning as well as on phenolic extraction and sensory outcomes of different maceration techniques in red wines, including cold soak, saignée and extended maceration. Dr. Casassa has been awarded the “Best Paper of the Year Award” by the American Journal of Enology and Viticulture (AJEV) twice: 2014 and 2017. He has completed 19 vintages as winemaker in regions such as Mendoza, Côtes du Rhône, Washington state and California. He is responsible for the Cal Poly wine branded program, regularly judges for local and international wine competitions, and consults in Chile, Argentina and the U.S. He was most recently awarded the Best Scholar Award at Cal Poly.