TASTE sign

September 2022: Letter from the Director

Fall Favorites Return

The UC Davis campus is buzzing with energy with the return of students and the start of the fall quarter. We saw unprecedented rainfall this week, which brought a feeling of a fresh new beginning and a change of season.

Fall also ushers in a busy season of educational and entertaining events with more in-person opportunities to attend. We will also have live broadcast virtual options for most experiences if you join from out of the area.

Our video tour series is a great way to visit from afar! The second installment highlights the state-of-the-art and LEED Platinum-certified brewery. It’s an innovative space that helps students translate theory into hands-on learning while brewing beer. Watch the video to hear from students and staff and see the facility. We’ll share more videos on our YouTube channel each month. I want to call out my communications lead, Jaime Wilson, for planning these video tours and the quality of the final product.

The Walt Klenz Lectureship series on Wine Business returns on October 6 with Jeff O’Neill. He is the CEO of O’Neill Vintners & Distillers, which he founded in 2004 and is now a certified B Corporation. The company has become the tenth largest winery in the US, specializing in national brands, exclusive-label wines, and premium wine and spirits production. We will host this lecture in person and virtually.

I am excited to share that TASTE, our annual food and wine tasting fundraiser, is back again on October 15. Tickets are on sale and going quickly, so I encourage you to purchase yours today. We will host our friends, colleagues and supporters under the heritage olive trees and sycamore trees in the Good Life Garden at the heart of the institute. We owe a special thanks to our student volunteers and food and beverage partners who make this fantastic event possible. Details and tickets are available on the TASTE webpage. When you attend, be sure to thank Babette Orendain, our event manager, for her efforts to organize TASTE each year.

This year’s TASTE beneficiary is the UC Davis Student Farm. Its mission is to hold a space where students can learn, practice, and model an ecologically, socially, and economically sustainable agriculture and food system. The Student Farm welcomes all students to build this more equitable and just farm and food system by cultivating student initiatives, leadership, experiential learning, and inclusive communities.

I hope to see you at one of our fall events!

Sincerely,


Andrew Waterhouse
Director, Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science
Professor Emeritus, Department of Viticuture and Enology

View the entire September 2022 Newsletter

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