Wine Science Gift

Wine Science Gift. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Fruit Grower Report.

The Washington Association of Wine Grape Growers have been meeting in Kennewick and during Wednesday general session Ted Baseler, president and CEO of Ste. Michelle Wine Estates and chair of the WSU Board of Regents made a special announcement regarding the WSU Wine Science Center.

BASELER: I’m pleased to convey to all of you our commitment to this center and I’m announcing that Ste. Michelle Wine Estate and our parent company are going to give $1-million dollars additionally to support the Wine Science Center for the future of Washington wine.

The proposed Wine Science Center will be built in Richland, Washington in the heart of the Washington wine industry. Baseler says it’s time the industry invested in it’s own future.

BASELER: We have imported people in the past from Cal-Davis, from other areas but today we need to be in a position to have our own destiny and control our own destiny when it comes to research.

He says it’s important to design our own research.

BASELER: When you look at our situation, our vineyards, our wineries they’re different from Napa, they’re different from Fresno. They are much different from issues in Europe, in Australia, in South America. We must design our own research; have our own people that impact the issues that we have here in Washington.

That’s today’s Fruit Grower Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.