Connoisseurs of fine wine and wild game should grab a black tie and an auction paddle and come to the Gala Dinner and Premier Wine Auction at Casa Larga Vineyards in Fairport, N.Y., March 9.
"The event benefits the new Cornell Vinification and Brewing Technology Laboratory that opened at the Agricultural Experiment Station on March 31," said Thomas Henick-Kling, who directs Cornell's enology program at the university's New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, N.Y.
"The goal is economic development through applied science and technology combined with training programs that result in high quality New York state wine and beer for consumers," Henick-Kling said.
This is the fourth year the event will be held. The gourmet dinner will be preceded at 6 p.m. with a reception featuring fine New York state sparkling wines and specialty beers. More than 20 different wines and about 10 beers will be served during the reception and dinner. After dinner, cases of premium New York state wine, food from local restaurants and overnight bed-and-breakfast packages from Finger Lakes establishments will be put to the gavel by auctioneer Harris Wilcox. Susan A. Henry, the Ronald A. Lynch Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, will be the master of ceremonies.
The Cornell Vinification and Brewing Technology Laboratory represents a university-industry partnership on the part of Cornell and the Agricultural Experiment Station. The 2,000-square-foot laboratory is specially designed for enology and brewing studies. 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 lab will be the premier site in the eastern U.S. for collaborative research and development in the art and science of wine making and brewing. It builds on the station's well-established programs in enology and fermentation science. In the past 25 years, more than 135 farm wineries and numerous microbreweries have been established in New York state.
The dinner is $100 per reservation. Black tie is optional. Tickets are available by contacting Nancy Long at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, Department of Food Science and Technology, Geneva, N.Y. 14456, or by calling her at (315) 787-2288 or e-mailing npl1@cornell.edu. Dinner choices are: venison sauteed in green peppercorn sauce, roasted pheasant stuffed with wild rice and pine nuts, fennel stuffed Colorado rainbow trout, or wild mushroom ragout in a walnut gorgonzola croustade. Reservations should indicate choice of dinner, and the check is made payable to Cornell University for $100 for each dinner selected ($50 is tax deductible).
The event is sponsored by New York State wineries, microbreweries, related industries and the Agricultural Experiment Station. A related web site is www.nysaes.cornell.edu/fst/vb/.
| Cornell Chronicle Front Page | | Table of Contents | | Cornell News Service Home Page |