Federico Casassa, associate professor of enology in Cal Poly’s Wine and Viticulture Department, was recently named an Italian Wine Ambassador by Vinitaly International Academy – making him one of only 240 such ambassadors in the world today. Casassa, who teaches winemaking, sought the certification to broaden his understanding of the diversity of Italian wines. “We live in a global world and our students need to be exposed to broadest possible array of aspects of the wine industry,” Casassa said.