Teagan Mosher was stationed in Italy with the U.S. Navy when her career path unfolded during a winery visit.

“The sommelier, he went out of his way to go to every table to find out how his wine was punctuating the meal,” Mosher said.

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Despite a slight communication barrier at Gambino Winery on Mount Etna, the sommelier was nurturing and eager to share.

“He sat next to me for 30 minutes, any question I had,” Mosher said.

Mosher, then working as a medical lab technician for the military, had an epiphany, realizing her science background could apply to winemaking.

She also was studying philosophy and learning about the good life.

The romance of wine proved alluring, and Mosher, 24, is now a junior studying viticulture and enology at Washington State University.

The college life

Mosher, who served in the Navy from 2017 to 2022, is the first recipient of WSU’s Mann Family Endowed Scholarship, a fund for active-duty military members or veterans seeking a wine education.

The Richland, Wash., resident also works as a biological sciences technician at the USDA Agricultural Research Service at WSU’s Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center in Prosser, Wash.

“The work I’m currently doing is helping researchers and growers make better crops,” Mosher said.

Mosher isn’t sure what she’s going to do after earning her degree in 2025, and she’s considering graduate school.

But whatever her path, “I know I’ll have a lot of support, and my overall goal is to give back to the industry and community at large,” Mosher said.

Military experience

Mosher said the military taught her to perform under pressure. She assisted with medical evaluations and tests, completing tasks under tight timelines so personnel could perform missions.

She also did blood transfusion services, staff training and played a key role in COVID-19 testing during the pandemic and the evacuation of Afghanistan.

Mosher said she’s sure the wine industry will present pressing problems and the need to adapt, but she feels prepared.

Wine awakening in Italy

Mosher doesn’t have ties to the industry. Growing up in a small town outside Fairbanks, Alaska, she had limited exposure to wine, though her mother occasionally brought home a bottle.

Mosher recalled being in awe of descriptors on labels. “There is a level of poetry,” she said.

Because Mosher fell in love with wine in Italy, she views wine as an everyday luxury meant to accompany food.

Mosher hopes to do her small part to make wine more approachable.

So far, Mosher has no regrets about joining the world of winemaking.

“Honestly, if I’m just looking at the people, I’m telling you, I’ve never had a bad day of work. It’s been just amazing,” Mosher said.

Teagan Mosher

Hometown: Originally the Fairbanks, Alaska area, currently Richland, Wash.

Occupation: Washington State University junior majoring in viticulture and enology, USDA biological sciences technician.

Background: U.S. Navy veteran is the first recipient of WSU’s Mann Family Endowed Scholarship, a fund for active-duty military members or veterans seeking a wine education.

Quote: “I came into wine understanding it to be just as important as the entree to most meals.”