By Lauren Paterson, College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences

An exclusive wine created by seniors of the WSU wine science program will be available for purchase at this month’s Auction of Washington Wines Private Barrel Auction for wine traders, April 19 and 20.

Currently aging in French oak barrels, the wine is a red blend featuring 60% Petit Verdot, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 15% Merlot. All proceeds of the auction benefit the WSU Viticulture & Enology Program.

“This is an exciting blend with a big tannic structure but beautiful, dark fruit aromas,“ said Thomas Henick-Kling, V&E Program Director.

This is the sixth year of the Private Barrel Auction. The event began with eight wineries, raising $48,000 for the WSU program in its first year. This year, the auction features 29 of Washington’s premier wineries, and the event will be virtual for the first time.

“The Private Barrel Auction works to solidify relationships with the trade buying audience while supporting Washington State University and the industry through research and education,” said Executive Director Jamie Peha.

Zachary Green (’20) was a senior in the V&E program and an intern at J. Brookwalter Winery when owner and Auction of Washington Wines co-chair John Brookwalter offered to donate a barrel of wine to the auction.

“It was the perfect opportunity for the seniors to showcase their winemaking skills and create their own barrel,” said Henick-Kling.

V&E students prepared the wine blend with the assistance of Brookwalter Wines head winemaker, Caleb Foster.

Using grapes donated from Dionysus Vineyard, the students helped prepare several fermentation lots, taking samples to their university winemaking course, titled “Blended Learning.”

“We blended and sampled everything from Merlot to Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot, to get everyone’s opinion on what style they liked the most,” said Green. With the assistance of assistant winemaker for Brookwalter Chance Cruisin, Green, fellow student Caleb Foster, and Henick-Kling created the final blend.

“It has heavy Petit Verdot characteristics, a deep rich fruity taste with a spice behind the palette,” said Green.

Green’s internship turned into a full-time job as a cellar master in mid 2020. After the auction, he will assist with bottling the V&E blend for whoever ends up making the private barrel purchase.

“The fact that we have a WSU student and alumni who were involved, and we have proceeds going back to V&E research at WSU really brings this collaborative event full circle,” said Peha.

The event attracts local and national wine buyers from retail, online, and hospitality establishments who bid for exclusive ownership of these one-time only wines to present to their top clientele.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, this year’s event will be virtual. Wine samples were sent by mail to representatives from wineries to taste during the virtual auction bidding on April 19 and 20. The virtual auction will be livestreamed and bids are placed by mobile phone.

“Research secures the future of the Washington wine industry,” said Peha. “Whether it’s focusing on growing healthy vines or working to adapt amid climate change, it is paramount to the success of our wine and grape industry.”

For additional information about the Private Barrel Auction, visit the��.

WALLA WALLA, Wash. – At 31 years old, WSU Viticulture & Enology alumnus Noel Perez (‘20) recently created and launched a 2016 Petit Verdot under his own label, Calvario Cellars.

Born in Mexico and raised in the Walla Walla Valley, Perez often accompanied his parents to their agricultural work sites where they picked asparagus, onions, and apples.

After earning his associate’s degree in Enology & Viticulture from Walla Walla Community College, Perez worked at a grape crushing facility for six years before being hired at Palencia Wine Company, where he oversaw logistics and assisted in crafting wine.

When his father passed away suddenly, Perez, a first-generation college student, said earning a bachelor’s degree became more important.

“My dad always wanted the best for me, and in honor of him I had to live up to the potential I knew I had.”

Perez said school was easier the second time because he thought of his studies more like a job. He avoided cramming, paid attention in class, and made sure he got enough sleep.

The same year Perez enrolled at WSU and started classes at the Tri-Cities campus, the owner of the wine processing plant where he formerly worked opened a winery in Kennewick, WA, and invited him to work there.

“This place became my lab, my sanctuary where I could experiment with wines while learning the art of winemaking in the V&E program,” he said.

Perez was recognized with several awards during his time at WSU, including Wine Spectator Student of the Year, before graduating summa cum laude in May 2020.

After graduation, Perez had a few job offers on the table, but Palencia didn’t want to let Perez go. He worked out a deal: as long as Perez stayed on full time as a winemaker, he could make his own wine under his own label.

Perez said yes, choosing a path that could bring him the creative freedom and happiness he values.

“I want to stay true to myself,” he said.

Petit Verdot

Perez’s debut wine is the Petit Verdot, which he selected for its complex flavors.

“I call these grapes the little blueberries, because they’re so tiny when you’re fermenting them, it looks like a bunch of berries,” Perez said

While the small berries don’t yield much juice, the flavors extracted have notes of rich tobacco, plums, and fruit.

“The wine was one of our best sellers of 2020,” he said.

Art of the label

Perez’s label Calvario is named for the road where his dad built their first family house in Mexico.

The icon for is label is a marigold, a flower often used in Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexican culture, to pay homage to his father. A double “c” for Calvario Cellars is etched inside.

The white frosty mountains at the back of the label represent the Blue Mountains near Walla Walla, which stretch from northeastern Oregon into southeastern Washington.

“I wanted something to represent the Pacific Northwest I call home,” Perez said.

The blue and black mountains at the front of the label represent the Oaxaca Mountains in Mexico, where Perez’s journey first began.

“It represents everyone along the way to get to this point. Where I started, and where I’m going,” he said.

A three-way partnership between Woodinville Wine Country, Chateau Ste. Michelle, and DeLille Cellars will aim to recruit students from diverse backgrounds for WSU’s wine science program.

As racial justice protests erupted across the country last summer, Amber Schmitt, Director of Marketing for Woodinville Wine Country, said the organization was challenged about what they were doing to help.

“It made us take a look inward and realize really quickly that there are not a lot of Black owned breweries and wineries in Washington,” said Schmitt. “We contemplated the best way to use our combined voice and resources for greater inclusivity and diversity within the wine industry.”

The Woodinville Wine Country Association represents the winemakers of the Woodinville area, which features a plethora of tasting rooms within a three-mile radius.

Schmitt said the scholarship endowment for WSU’s Viticulture and Enology program is the perfect way to support diversity amid future winemakers and industry professionals throughout the state. “This is a small step toward solving a bigger issue.”

“This Viticulture & Enology scholarship will enable us to continue working toward equitable opportunities for students from all backgrounds,” said��André-Denis Wright, Dean of the College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences.

DeLille Cellars is the third oldest operating winery in Woodinville, Wash., known for pioneering Bordeaux-style blends from grapes sourced across Washington State.

Keri Tawney (’98), a WSU graduate and director of marketing for DeLille Cellars, said being part of the team that brought this endowment to fruition has been rewarding.

“DeLille has provided me a wonderful opportunity to combine my advertising degree from WSU with my passion for Washington wine. Now it comes full circle with DeLille being a founding member of this scholarship for the V&E program to further enhance and create more inclusivity in our amazing wine community,” she said.

When awarding the scholarship, special consideration will be given to students who have overcome socioeconomic obstacles, educational disadvantages or disabilities, or are the first in their family to attend college.

“WSU has a world class viticulture and enology program, and we’re honored to partner with Chateau Ste. Michelle and Woodinville Wine Country in creating this scholarship,” said Tom Dugan, CEO of DeLille Cellars. “It reflects the great collaboration and community of Washington wine.”

Chateau Ste. Michelle has supported the WSU wine science program steadily for over 30 years by contributing funds for research and student scholarships. In 2015, WSU����the Ste. Michelle Wine Estates WSU Wine Science Center in recognition of these significant contributions.

“We believe diversity is important not just for our winery, but for the wine industry overall. It brings a wealth of creativity and innovation to our teams, research and most importantly our winemaking,” said Melody Zhang, Chief Human Resources Officer at Ste. Michelle Wine Estates. “We know there is more to be done, and believe that by helping to establish this scholarship, we are taking the first of many steps to develop future leaders in the wine industry that represent diverse cultures, backgrounds, experiences and insights.”

Details of the scholarship are still being finalized, with the first scholarship most likely being awarded for the 2022 academic year.

Community members who would like to make a donation to grow the endowment fund for the Woodinville Wine Country Diversity Scholarship Fund can donate via the��.

RICHLAND – Students can now earn a bachelor’s degree in Viticulture and Enology (V&E) from Washington State University.

“We’re very happy about completing this final step for adding the Viticulture and Enology degree for students at WSU and in our college,” said André-Denis Wright, dean of the College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences. “We’ve been working closely with the wine industry, and having this new degree will help our students stand out in this competitive and growing industry.”After the WSU Board of Regents approved the new Bachelor of Science degree in May, the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities has given the final approval to make the degree official.

Students will see the new degree on their diplomas starting with the Fall 2020 class of graduates. The degree will be based on the�����سԹ���campus, where the����is located.

Previously, students wanting to work in the wine industry earned a degree in Integrated Plant Sciences and majored in V&E. Their diploma did not say viticulture or enology. Also, students could choose to pursue the major on the Pullman or the Tri-Cities campus. Going forward, all students must finish at least the last two years of the degree at Tri-Cities.

“We are excited to officially add the viticulture and enology degree program to our campus,” said��Sandra Haynes,�����سԹ� chancellor. “Given our proximity to the wine industry in the mid-Columbia region in Washington, as well as the location of the Ste. Michelle Wine Estates WSU Wine Science Center on our campus, this is the perfect location for the home of the V&E program and degree. Students will have direct access to a variety of industry experiences and research opportunities in the heart of Washington wine country.”

The proximity will give students many opportunities to work closely with winemakers and vineyards as part of their education. A portion of all wine sales in Washington state goes directly to support��.

“This degree is an important step for our entire industry,” said Steve Warner, president of the��. “The world-class Wine Science Center is an amazing place for students to learn right in the middle of Washington wine country, giving them the opportunity to work hands-on with our wineries and vineyards. WSU’s program is fantastic, and it continues to grow and get even better.”

V&E students will have many opportunities to have internships with and learn from wineries and vineyards from around the Tri-Cities area. They will also have access to research tools, including specialized labs and vineyards at the Wine Science Center and at the��

Current Pullman students who have previously declared V&E as their major will be grandfathered in and can finish in either Pullman or Tri-Cities.

New V&E students have two options for starting their academic path: spend their entire time at ���سԹ� or start in Pullman, then finish the degree in Tri-Cities.

Students who want to stay in Pullman will have other options in related fields, like fermentation science, or can earn a minor in V&E.

By Scott Weybright, CAHNRS

When it comes to wine, the chemistry must be right to get the best taste and sensation.

To help winemakers with that chemistry, a team of researchers at Washington State University has made it easier to test the chemical makeup of their red wine to get the vino they’re looking for.

In a��paper released last month in the journal Molecules, the scientists presented a new model that allows winemakers to get measurements in their wine that previously required difficult, tedious, or expensive testing.

“Some of the testing methods are very difficult for people in a winery’s lab to do during harvest,” said Jim Harbertson, a WSU associate professor of enology and the corresponding author on the paper. “The industry asked us to come up with alternate ways to get information. We love chemistry, but most people don’t want to do that.”

The model allows wine labs to do measurements of phenolics that are typically out of reach for most. Phenolics give red wine its important sensory characteristics, like mouthfeel and color. They also provide antioxidants to the wine.

“This is basically a simplification of lengthy tests,” Harbertson said. “It took us several years and a huge amount of work and math, but we’ve corroborated the results of the model and it works well.”

So now winemakers can conduct relatively simple tests, run the results through the new WSU-created algorithm, and get accurate predictions on the mouthfeel and color of the wine produced for consumers.

“Technicians and winemakers in a winery lab will have a much easier time doing the work and getting useful results,” Harbertson said.

To make it more helpful to winemakers, Harbertson used research funds to make the academic paper, which he co-wrote with WSU colleagues Chris Beaver and Tom Collins, open access, or available to anyone, online. The goal is to help all wineries in Washington and around the country make better wine.

“This is for the people who make the wine that people drink,” he said. “This provides winemakers with a new tool for measuring the components of wine and will ultimately help consumers have better wines to drink.”

Media contact:

• James Harbertson, WSU Viticulture and Enology program, 509-372-7506,��jfharbertson@wsu.edu

By Scott Weybright, CAHNRS

When then-18-year-old Andrew Gerow packed his car to drive from his home in Michigan to start at ���سԹ�, he knew what he wanted from his education.

Gerow said he visited the before enrolling and “I knew immediately that I wanted to attend WSU.”“I’ve always loved anything to do with art and science,” said the Grand Rapids, Michigan native. “I literally stumbled upon����online, and I couldn’t get it out of my head.”

Three years later, Gerow, who will graduate in December 2020, has been named the Wine Spectator Wine Science Student of the Year.

“I was shocked when Dr. Henick-Kling told me,” Gerow said. “That was a great Zoom call because they tricked me, saying that they wanted to talk about my Blended Learning projects.”

Thomas Henick-Kling is the director of WSU’s Viticulture and Enology program.

Blended Learning is the program’s hands-on winemaking class that culminates in the production of commercial wines made by students. It has been Gerow’s favorite class so far during his time at WSU.

“The discussions about wine varieties, tasting different varieties to see what we like and what we don’t, then talking about how to produce what we want, it has been fantastic,” Gerow said. “I was involved in four projects, and two will go to market in the near future.”

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the timeline for Blended Learning releases hasn’t been determined yet. But when they do come out, Gerow will have two Rieslings and a rosé on his wine resume.

“I’m really happy with the results,” he said. “The timing is off, they were supposed to be bottled a few weeks ago, but they will eventually be available.”

“He’s an impressive student,” Henick-Kling said. “He’s graduating in three and a half years, and will make great contributions to our industry.”Gerow earned the student of the year honor, and corresponding scholarship, through his high academic achievement, his initiative and engagement with other students in Blended Learning, and his great follow-up work with the partner wineries, Henick-Kling said.

Gerow has worked in three wineries (two in Washington, one in Traverse City, Michigan), and two vineyards. He’s spent time in tasting rooms pouring and selling wine, and in the cellar.

His goal is to gain international experience after graduating by working in Australia or New Zealand.

After getting some more hands-on experience, he also plans to attend graduate school to further his formal wine education.

“My ultimate goal is to own a medium-sized estate winery one day,” Gerow said. “There is so much to learn when it comes to wine and winemaking. The balance between art and science is incredibly addicting and I can’t wait to keep learning.”

���سԹ� the Wine Spectator Scholarship Program

The Wine Spectator Scholarship Program was developed in 2018 thanks to a generous contribution from the Wine Spectator Scholarship Foundation.�� Each year, $99,000 is awarded to outstanding V&E students. Congratulations to this year scholars:

Wine Spectator Student of the Year

• Andrew Gerow

Wine Spectator Undergraduate Scholars

• Megan Meharg
• Jordan Culpepper
• Ava Pearson
• Autumn Miller
• Erin Lopez
• Christopher Gutierrez
• Bayli Picker
• Dalia Montero
• Yaritza Gomez
• Michael Nunnelee

Wine Spectator Graduate Fellows������������������

• Lindsey Kornowske
• Bailey Hallwachs

Bernadette Gagnier (’20) knows a thing or two about being an outlier.

Those principles—and a personal goal “to break stereotypes”—are what led her to join the Marines right out of high school, serving in Okinawa, Japan, South Korea, and in a western Pacific deployment where she visited 13 countries in eight months.The first-generation college student is the middle child and only daughter in a family of Boy Scouts. Growing up, she was taught two principles that have guided her along a road of success: hard work and a love for the outdoors, both of which she has been able to foster at ���سԹ� in the Viticulture and Enology Program.

Upon finishing her service, she found herself at a crossroads, unsure of what path to follow.

“Originally, I was going to do nursing,” she said. “I started on that track, but I didn’t really like it.”

Then, on a lark, Gagnier toured Washington’s wine country in the summer after her discharge.

“Two weeks later, I made my decision to enroll at WSU, and move to the Tri-Cities in 2017,” she said. “It happened that fast, because I just knew it was right.”

Ultimately, it was the vineyard life that guided her decision.

“I love to be outside, working with my hands,” she said.

Even though Gagnier had grown up near Woodinville—home to Chateau Ste. Michelle and a thriving wine scene—she knew very little about wine or the industry. And when she told friends back home about her career path, they were surprised. Until she told them she’d be working outside in a vineyard.

“Then they got it,” she said.

Gagnier’s first foray into the Washington wine industry was a job in the tasting room of Kiona Vineyards in Benton City, Wash., where she worked for owner and vineyard manager, Scott Williams (’80).

“I want to do what he does,” she said, “but as a woman.”

Driven by her desire to break stereotypes, Gagnier continues to be inspired by the leading women, particularly the vineyard managers, she meets in the industry.

First-gen journey

On an unseasonably hot July morning at the WSU Irrigated Agricultural Research and Extension Center (IAREC) in Prosser, Wash., Gagnier processes soil samples in a large filtration machine named “Gertrude.” Working alongside a post-doctoral researcher, Gagnier is helping on a nematode (roundworm) pest-management project, and though she has only been interning at IAREC for a month, she works with the confidence of a practiced technician.

Her internship at the WSU research center stems from her plan to pursue master’s degree in horticulture.

“I told professor Michelle Moyer what I wanted to do, and she encouraged me to work on the nematode project,” Gagnier said.

Not only will the research help her transition into graduate coursework, it will provide Gagnier with the chance to present her research at the spring Washington Winegrowers convention in Kennewick.

Some might see the transition from Marines to roundworm research as a leap, but Gagnier doesn’t view it that way: “I love to learn.”

The internship also comes on the heels of a recent trip she took to the Netherlands, where she spent a month working for Frysling Vineyards in the northern part of that country.

Back home, when Gagnier isn’t doing homework or interning at the IAREC, she tends to her philanthropy project for veteran students. As a representative of ���سԹ� Patriot’s Club, Gagnier collaborated with Bombing Range Brewing of Richland to craft the “GIPA,” an honorary beer for veterans.

The brew was a success, eventuating a charitable tradition that gives back to the students who have served their country. Last year, the group even presented former Secretary of Defense James Mattis—a Tri-Cities native—with a growler of GIPA and a t-shirt.

“It was amazing,” Gagnier said. “It was such an honor to present that to General Mattis.” The collaboration has resulted in well over $1,000 for veteran students.

In her free time, Gagnier gets outdoors to camp, ski, bike, kayak, or just hike a mountain trail. A meandering path has suited her well so far, and she’s ready for any challenge awaiting her.

“More than anything, I feel lucky to be here. I love being part of something bigger than myself.”

Gratitude and humility: Those traits don’t often define a 4.0 GPA student who has created his own blockbuster wine, and who holds the honorific of Wine Spectator Student of the Year. But those are precisely the traits that describe Noel Perez (’20).

A first-generation college student and the middle-child of three, Noel grew up learning the twin values of hard work and education in Washington’s Walla Walla valley.

“Agriculture has always been part of my life,” Perez said. “When I was a kid I would go with my parents to go pick apples, onions, asparagus, and cherries.”

His first foray into the wine-making business began shortly after high school in a facility that processed some 24,000 tons of grapes annually. He loved every part of the job, and could have easily made a comfortable living in that part of the industry.

But when his father passed away, Perez knew he had to go back to school. Having completed the College Cellars program at Walla Walla Community College as the youngest in his class, Perez entered WSU’s Viticulture & Enology Program in 2017.

“Education was a way to honor all the hard work my father and family had instilled in me,” he said.

Unlike most people who enter the wine industry at an older age—often as a second career, or following a military deployment—Perez quickly discovered that his years of hands-on experience afforded him the benefit of perspective.

“I did the backwards path,” he joked. “If you want to get into the wine making industry,” he added, “go do a harvest first, before you step into a school. Then you’ll know if it’s in your heart or not. The job is far more than wine tasting. There is a lot of blue-collar work involved.”

Starting the V&E Program, Perez immediately showed his academic prowess, winning scholarships such as the Walter J. Clore��scholarship from the Washington Wine Industry Foundation. His love for academics, he said, comes from his mother.

“My mom always said, ‘No matter what you do in life, be educated. Push through.’”

Honoring his mother’s charge, Perez set out on his most ambitious project yet: making his own wine��in WSU’s Blended Learning class, taught by Thomas Henick-Kling, professor and Director of the V&E Program.

“I wanted to make something different,” he said. “So, I proposed making a Sangiovese for the school before I graduated. I couldn’t let myself leave here without doing that.”

Settling on that particular wine was significant because no other student in WSU’s V&E Program had yet made it.

“Noel’s Sangiovese was one of several projects students carried out in several wineries that year,” Henick-Kling said. “Noel knew where to source excellent fruit and how to make an outstanding wine from it.”

Still, the��bar was very high. “All wines produced in the Blended Learning class must be excellent,” Henick-Kling added.

“I’ve produced a lot of wines,” Perez allowed. “But nothing with my name on the label. So, I put my whole heart into it.”

Because Sangiovese is one of his favorite varietals for its character and crimson color, Perez knew exactly what he wanted from his signature wine.

“I wanted to make a wine with a little higher alcohol but with a lot of fruity notes and spicy character, but not too overwhelming.”

In the spring of 2019, Thomas Henick-Kling, professor and Director of WSU’s V&E Program, called Perez into his office for a meeting.

“At first, I thought I was in trouble,” Perez joked. Then he thought the meeting might be about his Sangiovese project. But it wasn’t about his signature wine.

“That’s when they told me I was the Wine Spectator Student of the Year.”

Perez was stunned. “I froze,” he said. “I thought they were kidding, because there are so many good students here. I couldn’t believe it.”

In 2017, Wine Spectator donated $1 million to the WSU Viticulture and Enology Program to help establish the resources for teaching, research, and scholarships.��The Student of the Year award includes a $15,000.00 scholarship from the Wine Spectator Scholarship Foundation and is awarded annually to a V&E student in recognition of their academic achievements and contributions to the wine industry.

is a print and online publication, with approximately 3 million readers worldwide.��The flagship magazine��examines the world of wine from the vineyard to the table, exploring wine’s role in contemporary culture and providing expert reviews.

When he told his mother, she was overwhelmed. “She cried her eyes out,” Perez recalled.

But Perez’s backward path to success didn’t end there. Last August, his Sangiovese received top honors and recognition at the����annual Winemaker’s Picnic & Barrel Auction, where it competed handily with the state’s leading labels.

In the end, five cases of his Sangiovese sold for a��whopping��$9,155. The proceeds are part of the total revenue the Auction of Washington Wines raises to support the WSU Viticulture & Enology Program.

When asked what his mother thought of his latest achievement, Perez said, “She told me to stay humble, and to remember where I came from.”

The question now is, where will he go?

“There are so many different options after I graduate. Eventually, the plan is to create my own label, and to create a company where I can take everything I have learned in work and school and bring it all full circle.”

By Maegan Murray, ���سԹ�

RICHLAND, Wash. – recently signed an agreement with to explore educational opportunities for international collaboration in the field of wine science.

Valdemar Family Wine Estates has in both Walla Walla, Washington, and Rioja, Spain. It is the first non-American winery to establish a location in Walla Walla.

“We are delighted to forge an agreement with Valdemar Family Wine Estates, as it will provide extensive learning opportunities for students,” ���سԹ� Chancellor Sandra Haynes said. “These opportunities include internships, research and hands-on experiences that provide an in-depth look at the wine industry here and in Spain.”

The agreement specifically encourages the exploration of:

• Ways that international students could participate in experiential learning such as internships at Valdemar Family Wine Estates in Walla Walla, Washington, and in Rioja, Spain
• Ways to recruit Spanish students to the Tri-Cities and vice-versa
• Joint research efforts including grape and wine production
• Opportunities for collaborative programs relating to wine business professional development and related research programs

“There are two things that excite us the most about this partnership, and those are the possibility of giving local students an international experience in Rioja, which is something that will enhance their career, as well as the project bringing Rioja grapes, such as Maturana or White Tempranillo, something that would enrich the grape diversity of Washington state,” said Jesús Martínez Bujanda Mora, CEO of Valdemar.

André-Denis Girard Wright, dean of WSU’s College of Agriculture, Human and Natural Resource Sciences, said Washington is the new epicenter of wine, and WSU’s Viticulture and Enology Program fosters the state’s $4.8 billion wine industry with research, education and outreach.

“Partnering with Valdemar Estates, who pioneered the first internationally-owned winery in Walla Walla, brings global connections that are truly exciting for our students, scientists and wine industry partners,” he said.

Washington State University is a , featuring the state-of-the art and all-encompassing – one of only a handful of full-fledged wine science centers in the United States.

For more information about the wine science program at WSU, visit . For more information about Valdemar Family Wine Estates, visit .

By Brandon Schrand, College of Agricultural, Human and Natural Resource Sciences

RICHLAND, Wash. – When Madeleine Higgins was trying to pay the rent in New York as a struggling fashion writer, she never dreamed that one day she would be interning in a custom-crush facility in Walla Walla, Wash., learning to make wine as a top-student in and garnering national distinction.

A Los Angeles native who grew up in Seattle, Higgins attended Loyola Marymount where she majored in Psychology, minored in English, and sold shoes part time to foot the bills. After graduating in 2013, Higgins landed a job in New York writing for Condé Nast’s��, though she quickly found herself living in an unsustainable situation.

“I wasn’t surviving in New York,” she said. “I couldn’t afford to eat.”

It was when her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer that Madeleine finally said goodbye to New York and returned to Seattle to be with family. As her mother recovered, Higgins started selling shoes again, helping out where she could.

“It was during this time I realized that writing wasn’t going to happen for me,” she said. “I don’t think I had enough passion to move through the difficulty of getting started. That’s when a chance encounter changed everything.”

A winery tour that changed everything

Higgins said she had a family friend who worked for , and that hearing someone from the industry talk about wine was very interesting. The conversation led to a private tour of the Woodinville, Wash. winemaking facility.

“I was really inspired by that particular tour,” she said.

In researching winemaking as a career, she was immediately drawn to WSU’s viticulture and enology program. But it was still a big decision. Then her mother gave her the push she needed.

“She told me to jump in and go for it,” she said.

Empowered by her mother’s courage and triumph, Madeleine moved to the Tri-Cities and started classes in 2016, ready for the challenge.

“I can say that I have always worked hard, and in my family—we’re Irish—hard work is one of our things,” she said.

Hard work pays off

Over the last three years, her hard work has yielded great success. Beyond maintaining a high grade-point average, Higgins completed a research assistantship, won Best Undergraduate Poster at the Washington Winegrowers Convention, created a wine for WSU Blended Learning at and secured a coveted internship with in Napa Valley this summer.

Then this spring, she was named����Student of the Year, an accolade that comes with a $15,000 scholarship from the magazine’s scholarship foundation.

The honor, Higgins said, validates all the 5 a.m. routines of checking Brix, the grapes’ sugar content, in Walla Walla that turned into late nights at the studying phenolic compound structures, in addition to all the weeks of research with no days off in between her internship and school commitments.

But above all, she said the recognition told her that all her hard work and leap into a new life was worth it.

Looking back, she credits the program’s faculty for what she has accomplished.

“They are incredibly supportive,” she said. “At WSU, I have access to some of the most important wine researchers in the world.”

Life comes full circle

Many aspects of her life are now coming full circle, she said. Having once written for a magazine, she is now being honored by one. And after completing her internship in Napa Valley this summer, she plans on traveling to New Zealand.

“The same family friend who first introduced me to wine has a daughter there and a lot of wine connections,” she said.

In New Zealand, she said she wants to learn by comparison.

“The only way for me to make an impact is to learn what other wine regions are like,” she said.

But ultimately, she intends on making that impact at home.

“Washington is a really innovative place for wine making, she added. “Someone told me it’s the ‘rock and roll of wine.’ I love the idea of being a part of that.”

Learn more about�� at .