The Cornell Vinification & Brewing Technology Laboratory is a pilot plant dedicated to research and teaching in wine and brewing sciences.

Enology
The new facility allows us to expand our experimental winemaking program to test new grape varieties and winemaking practices.  It allows us to scale up our experiments to industrial production volumes. It is a place for equipment manufacturers to showcase their new equipment. It is a place where industry members can train on new and current technology and equipment. It is a place where Cornell students can conduct research and learn winemaking practice on industrial equipment.

Brewing
The brewing pilot plant is planned to serve multiple roles. It will be used in hands-on instruction during formal Cornell courses and extension programs. It will be a neutral site for suppliers of equipment and ingredients to present demonstrations or to obtain evaluations of their products or comparisons with competitors. It will be a facility available to present and aspiring brewers for product and process development. It will be used for faculty research in brewing science and technology.

Outreach
The new facility will form a center in which wine and brewing industry members can test and learn about new ideas. Workshops and industry seminars can be conducted teaching the use of new equipment and techniques. The new Cornell V&B Lab has (most) all utilities in place to allow equipment manufacturers and distributors to demonstrate new equipment and instruct industry personnel on the proper use of the equipment. Industry member will be able to utilize space and equipment on a fee basis for their own tests or small production lots.

Teaching
The new Cornell Vinification & Brewing Technology Lab will allow Cornell students to better carry out research projects and to learn on industrial scale equipment. Practical training sessions held in the new facility can be part of a new enology and brewing curriculum.

Research
Research on many aspects of enology and brewing will be carried out. These studies will be directed at improving the fundamental understanding of processing and product quality, development of useful analytical measurements, discerning relationships between product composition and various aspects of product quality, and process studies designed that may lead to developments in equipment and techniques.

Options for funding support
We continue to look for funds to:

• Help support the Enology Extension Associate who will manage the new facility and organize additional seminars, training short courses, and industry trials.
• Help establish a fund to support the operations budget and equipment maintenance and replacement.
• Help establish endowed professorships in enology and brewing science.
• Help establish a fund to support graduate students and industry personnel to study at Cornell and other national and international centers of enology and brewing expertise.