February 2026: Letter from the Director
Coffee News & RMI Tours
Our first two programs of the year have been successful and well-received, selling out quickly and drawing a full crowd to the Robert Mondavi Institute Sensory Theater.
The Savor: Coffee Unfiltered, Thinking Outside the Cup recording is now available on YouTube, and I highly encourage you to watch it. Speakers included Jerry Baldwin, co-founder of Starbucks, Eliana Cossio of Westrock Coffee, Peter Giuliano of the Specialty Coffee Association, Russ Kramer of La Minta Coffee and moderator Bill Ristenpart of the UC Davis Coffee Center. The conversation spanned decades of experience, history, and insights for the future.
At Savor, the UC Davis Library announced three significant collections of coffee-related materials from our speakers, which together illuminate the history, science and global impact of specialty coffee.
We are proud to partner with the UC Davis Coffee Center, the first academic research and teaching facility in the United States dedicated entirely to the study of coffee. You can purchase Coffee Center whole roasted beans at the UC Davis Stores and online. Proceeds support student research.
Sips and Bites: The Chemistry of Distinctive Wines welcomed past RMI Director and Professor Emeritus Andrew Waterhouse and Assistant Professor of Wine Chemistry Liang Chen. They developed an enlightening lecture and tasting that was so well-received that we are discussing additional programs on the topic.
The 2nd Annual Alumni Wine Showcase, in partnership with the Cal Aggie Alumni Association and the Department of Viticulture and Enology, will take place on Saturday, May 16. This is a newly confirmed date! Tickets will be announced and go on sale in next month’s newsletter.
If you’d like to tour the Teaching and Research Winery and the Anheuser Busch InBev Brewery at the RMI, come out to Biodiversity Museum Day this Saturday, February 21. Tours will be offered from 10 am to 2 pm. You'll also learn about the Phaff Yeast Culture Collection.
Finally, if you drink wine, the Delarue Lab would like you to complete this wine consumer survey to support their research. It should take less than 10 minutes to complete.
Ned Spang
Director, Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science
Associate Professor, Department of Food Science and Technology