Bottling day at Fresno State, home of nation's first commercial winery on a college campus

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The demand for the campus crushed wines has spread far beyond the Gibson Farm Market. You can also find Fresno State wine at Costco, Save Mart, BevMo and Total Wine.

"I just like it for the fact that you work hard and you have a product that you can give to people. You know there's no better feeling than that," said student Alex Romero.

Alex is a junior who figures he will make wine in Paso Robles someday. Fresno State has long served as a wine pipeline for the industry.

"When I graduated probably half the winemakers in Napa were from Fresno State," said Tom.

In addition to tailgate red, students also bottled a 2016 Chardonnay. The bottling line moved quickly at the Fresno State Winery. This year's selections were labeled and boxed and ready to be shipped out.

Students like Romero get hands-on experience producing wines like tailgate red.

"Shoot, our tailgate. That's our go-to. It's got a nice little sweetness to it," said Romero.

Winemaker Tom Montgomery left the Valley in 1979 to work in Napa. This year he came back to share his knowledge with students.

"When I originally went to Napa there were 32 wineries. Now there's over 450 so you can imagine the growth," said Montgomery.

"I grew up in Sanger and it was getting a bit crowded for me in the bay area."