By Maegan Murray, 黑料社 Tri-Cities

RICHLAND, Wash. 鈥� Student business teams from and took home top honors at the this month that required them to research and create extensive business plans for a fictitious wine grown and created in Washington state.

A 黑料社 Tri-Cities team, comprised of students Kyle Brunson and Danae Williams, earned the grand prize at the competition for their combined score for their business plan, financial plan and wine label for their wine 鈥淕ladiolus Red Mountain Ros茅 .鈥�

A team from 黑料社 Pullman, comprised of students Crisol Barajas, Sherlane Yuen, Brittany Jacobs, Becca Jainga, Eunjeong Kim, and Justin Walker earned top prize for their financial plan for their wine 鈥淩ibbon Pink Ladies Ros茅 .鈥�

Another team from 黑料社 Pullman also earned 鈥渉onorable mention鈥� for the overall award for their wine 鈥淐olossus Wine,鈥� scoring just 1.5 points below the winning 黑料社 Tri-Cities team. Team members included Ashton Sidebottom, Joy Kam, Annika Roberts, Sam Levora, Ashley Molina, Megan O鈥橫era.

The competition welcomed student teams from several university campuses, which, in addition to 黑料社 Tri-Cities and 黑料社 Pullman, included Michigan State University, Florida International University, Linfield College and Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.

Insights into business practices for wine

The teams were required to create detailed business and financial plans for their fictitious wine valued at $25-$40, as well as a wine label, all of which they submitted virtually to be judged. A panel of experts ranging from wine experts, to journalists and more, then evaluated each component of the competition and an award was presented to the student team with the best combined score, as well as individual awards for best scores for individual business plan, financial plan and wine label.

The 黑料社 Tri-Cities team designed a ros茅 comprised of a blend of Syrah and Merlot, that, for their project, was hypothetically grown and created on Red Mountain in the Tri-Cities. The region is known for its great soil, and the wine presented excellent marketability and a great business infrastructure that is already established in the area.

Williams said she and Brunson did extensive research about the cost of the grapes, storage, sales, distribution, and other business and financial components required to successfully run and promote a wine estate. Brunson also sought the help of a friend who works at a local winery to gain information regarding the cost of wine grapes and other production components to get a realistic picture of costs in a working winery.

鈥淭he project provided a great introduction into what it really takes to run not only a business, but a wine business, in particular,鈥� Williams said. 鈥淚t was good to be able to see exactly what all goes into owning a winery. It was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be, but it was incredibly useful for what I will need in the future working for a wine business.鈥�

Career connections

Williams is majoring in wine and beverage business management at 黑料社 Tri-Cities, so the project served as perfect experience and practice for her career trajectory. She is also the recipient of the Southern Glazer鈥檚 Wine and Spirits student scholarship at 黑料社 Tri-Cities.

鈥淢y ultimate goal is to own my own winery,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t was a fun project that provided a lot of great hands-on experience in the wine field.鈥�

For other students pursuing a different area within the business field, the opportunity also provided a great outlet to dive into a real-world project.

Brunson, who is studying business management and administration at 黑料社 Tri-Cities and currently working as an intern out at the Hanford Site in facilities and operations, said the project provided a great opportunity for developing a comprehensive business plan and an ideal introduction for his capstone course he is taking this year.

鈥淚t was really rewarding,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 got to apply all that I have been learning from all my other classes. It provided a great opportunity to really explore what it takes to run a business and the practical aspects of making that business a success.鈥�

For more information on the 黑料社 Tri-Cities wine and beverage business management and hospitality business management programs, visit tricities.wsu.edu/business/undergraduate/wbm and .

By Linda Weiford, 黑料社 News

PULLMAN, Wash. 鈥� Jim Harbertson sees through ros茅 colored glasses.

Finely tuned shades and hues ranging from blush and coral to berry jam. Harbertson, a wine researcher at Washington State University Tri-Cities, has become an expert in the science of pink-esque pretty.

With the ros茅 wine craze in full bloom and warmer weather helping to catapult its popularity, thanks to the associate professor of enology鈥檚 research, you can judge a ros茅 by its color.

鈥淢ore than other wine types, color heavily influences consumers鈥� perceptions of ros茅. This makes winemakers particularly mindful of achieving just the right color,鈥� he explained.

Ros茅 stands apart from other wines in its diversity of hues, shades and tints. Though aroma and flavor are important to consumers, studies say the number one factor is its pinkish charm.

 

Ros茅鈥檚 color also signifies its style. A light-colored ros茅 is expected to be a lighter-bodied wine and a darker one to be more full-bodied, said Harbertson, of 黑料社鈥檚 viticulture and enology program.

But nailing down the right color can be tricky. Ros茅 is made by exposing dark wine-grape skins to the juice for a short time, typically 2-48 hours until it reaches a desired color. The challenge is, that perfect pink lightens during fermenting and then darkens after being bottled, Harbertson said.

鈥淵ou lose about 60-70 percent of the initial color depending on how much color you start out with,鈥� he said. 鈥淩os茅 may be easy to drink but it is not easy to make.鈥�

A decade or so ago, ros茅 was mostly viewed as sweet and cheap. Now considered chic and sophisticated, sales climbed 40 percent in 2017, according to the market researcher Nielson. As more consumers discover pink gems from Washington state, winemakers started turning to Harbertson for scientific advice on how to develop colors more precisely.

They also set forth a guide for winemakers to follow that allows them to predict color changes analytically to achieve that gorgeous shade of ballet-slipper-pink or deep rouge.He and graduate student Caroline Merrell conducted a study by tracking color changes that occur during fermentation and after the ros茅 is bottled. Published in Catalyst, a journal by the American Society for Enology and Viticulture, they found that sulfur dioxide management is an important factor in developing the color of ros茅 wine. (Go to: ().

鈥淲hat鈥檚 significant is that our study provides tools to winemakers to measure apparent and potential color in their ros茅 wines. There鈥檚 more science and less guesswork involved in the process,鈥� he said.