Fifty years ago, a blind tasting in Paris quietly rewrote the story of California wine. On May 24, 1976, a panel of nine French judges, convinced that California wine could not compete with Bordeaux or Burgundy, scored it higher than both. The Judgment of Paris put Napa Valley on the map and changed the way the world thought about American winemaking.
On the evening of May 22, 2026, five student teams gathered in the Robert Mondavi Institute's Food Innovation Lab with one shared ingredient, KARANA GROUND jackfruit, and five very different ideas about what to do with it.
On April 26, 2026, the Sensory Theater at the Robert Mondavi Institute filled with students, alumni, researchers, and industry leaders for the 3rd Annual Women+ in Wine Symposium, titled Rooted and Rising: Lessons in Resilience for a Changing Wine Industry.
On a warm May evening, more than 20 alumni-affiliated wineries and wine organizations filled the courtyard at the Robert Mondavi Institute for the second annual UC Davis Alumni Wine Showcase. Organized by the Department of Viticulture and Enology, the Cal Aggie Alumni Association, Aggies Uncorked, and the Robert Mondavi Institute, the sold-out event brought graduates back to the place where many of them first learned to read a fermentation curve or build a blend.
The University of California, Davis, Department of Viticulture and Enology will begin this year’s wine sales June 16 from noon to 4 p.m. The wines are made by students, faculty and staff from grapes they grow on campus and at the Oakville research station in Napa Valley. Six new student-made wines will be released as well as three new UC Davis wines.
The academic year is coming to a quick end with students preparing for final exams and commencement ceremonies on the horizon. The Robert Mondavi Institute closes out the term with two amazing sold-out events.
Iron Brew is one of those UC Davis traditions that sounds almost too good to be real. Every winter, students in FST 102B Practical Malting and Brewing spend weeks formulating recipes, brewing batches on nanobreweries in the RMI pilot brewery, and competing for the chance to have their beer produced commercially.
Past winners, including Off the Clock, Caledonian Nights, Mighty Gale Ale, and Brew La-La have gone from campus fermentors to taps at The Gunrock, Sudwerk Brewing Co., and now Dunloe Brewing .
On Saturday, May 2nd, 2026, 83 students, faculty and staff from UC Davis gathered at the RMI Sensory building for the first Student Symposium on Food Justice. This gathering sought to unite students who are dedicated to a food system that nourishes both people and the planet and support our collective efforts to advance justice in our food system.
On May 11, 2026, certified sommelier, debut author, and change agent in the world of wine and beverage, Cha McCoy came to UC Davis with a mission to reframe how we think about wine, food, and who gets a seat at the table.
Spring is slowly unfurling in Davis with grapevines and olive trees starting to bloom around the Robert Mondavi Institute. It feels appropriate that the monthly newsletter is filled with news about wine and olive oil.
