Washington State University’s viticulture and enology’s facility won’t open in the Tri-Cities until next spring, but students aren’t waiting to bottle and sell their own wines.
And, with the help of local winemakers, they’ve already sold out of their first release.
Two hundred cases of a dry-style Riesling were snapped up soon after it went on sale last May. This week, 200 cases of a red blend are hitting the market this week.
“We sold it out so quickly and it was so well received that we will make another dry Riesling this fall. I wished I had made three times as much as we did,” said Thomas Henick-Kling, WSU’s director of viticulture and enology.
The students have teamed up with Northwest winemaking heavyweights to churn out these bottles under the label Blended Learning. Henick-Kling says the students have several more wines on deck for release later this year.
You can uncork some cougar wine by joining WSU’s wine club, visiting a WSU Connections Store in Seattle or by mail order.
Other Northwest universities that make wine include: Walla Walla Community College, South Seattle Community College, Yakima Valley Community College in Washington and Umpqua Community College and Chemeketa Community College in Oregon.
