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have many options when they aged out of the program. She learned of a free viticulture and hospitality program offered in Temecula, and enrolled as a coach for one of the high school students, and it was all the spark she needed to ignite her fire. " ey learned so much, not just vocational [skills] — sweeping floors and wiping tables down. ey actually learned information," she remembers. Inspired, she went home with an idea for their family ranch. "I told my husband, ' is is what we need to do: We need to take out our avocados and put a vineyard in,'" she says. And so they did, removing 350 avocado trees and planting 500 vines on their three acres in Fallbrook in 2017. Batali charged a nominal $800 a year for eight students to come and learn viticulture at her home, where she let them each "adopt" two vines to care for, had guest speakers come assist with launching the vineyard, and took field trips to neighboring wineries to learn more about operations. In 2019, the program became the nonprofit D'Vine Path, a working farm and vineyard that teaches young adults with Asperger's and other high functioning disabilities essential skills in programs including viticulture and winemaking, farming, art, and culinary arts. It grew to eight acres with the acquisition of and move to a neighboring property that was previously the setting for the Tori Spelling B&B reality TV show, Inn Love. Today, D'Vine Path has 40 students in its programs. Tuition is paid through funding from the San Diego Regional Center and the California Department of Rehabilitation, so all attend without any cost to them or their families. All other donations D'Vine Path receives go directly into the program and maintaining the operation. "I think it's important for people to understand that just because you get grants and funding and federal or state support, that doesn't mean that you're just completely self-sufficient," says Batali. " is is where there are huge gaps to be filled." Batali isn't short on success stories to share, whether it's small moments where students surprise others in the field with the winemaking know-how they've earned at D'Vine Path, or big wins like former students graduating from the program and making their dream of working at a winery a reality. "I just want to empower them. I just want to expand their horizons. I want them to meet new people, see new things, learn new concepts," she says. "Our [students] come to D'Vine Path, and no one has a disability. ey're just themselves. ey find joy. We learn things, but we do it together. We're all equal. at, to me, is the biggest thing." dvinepath.org >> @ranchandcoast RANCH & COAST MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2024 49 TOP D'Vine Path is an educational program on an eight-acre working farm and vineyard in Fallbrook ABOVE "I just want to empower them. I just want to expand their horizons," says Lenila Batali, D'Vine Path's founder and executive director.