Desktops in a new WSU science center will be wider than usual so that students will have someplace to put their wineglasses. But it's not as hedonistic as it might sound.
The desks are part of the furnishings for WSU's new $23-million wine science center scheduled to open next year in the Tri-Cities. The viticulture and enology training center has been a long-sought goal of Washington's fast growing wine industry which pumped nearly 9-billion dollars into the state's economy last year.
The CEO of a major winery, Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, said a research university is at the heart of every major wine region.
Spokane architectural and construction firms designed and built the new 40-thousand square foot research center at the WSU campus in Richland.
A research vineyard has already been started with several grape varieties, and three atmospheric chambers will let researchers control temperatures from way below zero to brutally hot to test grapevines' resiliency to temperature extremes.
The center will include chemistry and microbiology labs, viticulture and plant pathology labs. And the center will also stock about 600 wineglasses for taste testing. Plus a huge dishwasher for them.
