Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/514197
26 JUNE 2015 GOOD FRUIT GROWER www.goodfruit.com brightest wine students and researchers in the world. In 2008, a report commissioned by the Washington wine industry concluded that the existing WSU research and teaching facilities, scattered between Pullman, Tri- Cities, and Prosser, were "inadequate to conduct the research needed by the industry for today and tomor- row." But just as the concept for a world-class research and teaching center started to gain traction within the wine industry and WSU, the recession put a stop to such projects. Industry vision About fi ve years ago, the wine industry got serious about it, says Ted Baseler, chief executive of Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, Washington's largest wine producer. The wine industry, through the Washington Wine Commission, jumpstarted the project by pledging $7.4 million of grower and winery money and helped form partnerships between WSU, the Richland community, and the Port of Benton. Funding for the $23 million cen- ter has come from a mix of industry contributions and state and federal funds and grants. "Virtually all the leaders of the wine and grape industry agreed there was an acute need for world class science, and people quickly rallied around the effort to build the center," said Baseler, who chairs the WSU Wine Campaign Committee. "Now, it seems even more important than ever." Construction of the wine center took less than two years. The Port of Benton donated land near the WSU-Tri Cities campus, and the City of Richland created an eco- nomic development authority to oversee construction How the center was funded F unding for the $23 million Wine Science Center came from a variety of sources, including $7.4 million pledged from the Washington Wine Commission, $5 million from state capital funds, and more than $2 million for equipment and furnish- ings from a grant by the U.S. Department of Commerce's Development Administration. The Port of Benton provided a $350,000 in-kind land donation, and architectural and design services of $150,000 were donated by Terence Thornhill of Pasco, Washington. Ste. Michelle Wine Estates and its parent company Altria Group provided $1 million to support scholarships, program growth, and startup funding for equipment for a wine chemist position and other faculty support. The $5.3 million fermentation system included a $3.2 million in-kind donation by Cypress Semiconductor Corporation of San Jose, California, and $600,000 of stainless steel fermentation tanks donated by Spokane Industries of Spokane. The research and teaching vineyard has been named the Albert Ravenholt Vineyard in tribute to $500,000 donated posthumously from the Albert Victor Ravenholt Foundation. A donation of $250,000 from Patsy Mercer, the Mercer family, and Mercer Canyons, Inc., given to honor Bud Mercer Jr., will be used to establish a research greenhouse called the Bud Mercer Greenhouse. Hamilton Cellars contributed $100,000, and hundreds of industry members, allied businesses, and general supporters have given thousands of dollars. —M. Hansen WSU's Richard Larsen, left, and Thomas Henick-Kling make adjustments to a state-of-the-art fermentation system in the center's winery. The system includes automatic pumps for pump-overs.