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MARCH 13, 2000
CONTACT: Linda McCandless, llm3@cornell.edu, 315-787-2417
by Linda McCandless
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Suggested caption: The NYSAES V&B Laboratory is ready for use |
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GENEVA, NY:The ribbon cutting for Cornell University's Vinification and Brewing Technology Laboratory at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, NY, is scheduled for 4 p.m., March 31, at an open house from 3-5 p.m. Researchers, winemakers, brewers, and industry representatives who will be using the facility are expected to attend as well as local politicians and dignitaries. A wine treatment process will be on-going and refreshments served. The public is invited.
The Open House will be followed by the Third Annual Gala Dinner and Wine Auction at the Ramada Inn, Geneva Lakefront, from 6-10 p.m. Daryl Lund, dean of Cornell's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, will be the master of ceremonies. Harry Wilcox will be the auctioneer. Tickets are $100/person ($50 is tax deductible).
During dinner, Steve Hindy, co-founder and president of Brooklyn Brewing, will present a check to Dean Lund to establish a $25,650 scholarship on behalf of the American Institute for Wine and Food. The scholarship is for professional people from metro New York to attend classes at the Laboratory.
The Lab represents the latest university/industry partnership on the part of Cornell and the Experiment Station. When the project was launched in 1997, the Station sought $250,000 to $500,000 in start-up funds, and hoped to establish a $1 million endowment for staff and programming. So far, over $210,000 in state funds have been earmarked for the project, and $70,000 in donations have been made by industry and local wine trails.
The 2,000 sq. ft. Laboratory is specially designed for enology and brewing studies. The former machine shop at the west end of the Food Science & Technology building at the Experiment Station has been emptied, cleaned and painted. Flooring, drainage, steam lines and ventilation have been installed, and an outside delivery and grape crushing area added.
Mashing and lautering vessels, a boiling kettle, and fermenters will be located at one end of the room and dedicated to brewing technology. The other end of the laboratory will hold 100 liter to 500 liter wine fermentation tanks and an analytical laboratory and office. The central workspace will include de-stemmers, crushers, presses, filters, bottle fillers, and heating and cooling equipment for wine making.
The Lab builds on the Station's well-established programs in enology and fermentation science. Previously, the 10,000 sq. ft. Fruit and Vegetable Processing Pilot Plant at the Station was used for fermentation studies, but the wine and brewing industries in the state have grown to such an extent that the Station required a separate facility to properly serve their needs. In the last few years, 136 farm wineries and numerous microbreweries have been established in New York State.
The Lab will be the premiere site in the eastern U.S. for collaborative research and development in the art and science of wine making and brewing. The facility will be used by faculty and staff at GENEVA. It will also be available for wineries, breweries, suppliers, equipment manufacturers, educators, consumers, national associations, and students to test new technologies and piloting procedures. Workshops, experimental research projects, and certification programs will help integrate the brewers' and winemakers' experiences with the resources and scientists at Geneva. The goal is economic development through applied science and technology combined with training programs that result in high quality products for consumers.
Richard Durst, chairman of the Food Science & Technology department at the Station, will oversee the Lab. Thomas Henick-Kling, associate professor of enology, will direct the enology program. Karl Siebert, professor of biochemistry, will direct the brewing program.
"This partnership is an outstanding example of the increasing cooperation between the private sector and the university," said Jim Hunter, director of the Experiment Station.
For reservations to attend the dinner and the auction, contact Nancy Long, 315-787-2288, npl1@cornell.edu
