CONTACT: Rebecca Robinson
The
Wine & Food Foundation of Texas
512-327-7555
or 512-350-4621
robinson@winefoodfoundation.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Wine and Food Foundation of Texas
awards $25,000 in grants for education and research
in wine, food
AUSTIN,
Texas – (June 20, 2007) The Wine
and Food Foundation of Texas awarded $25,000.00 in grants this
week as part of its annual competitive grant awards program.
Recipients include Ed Hellman, PhD, with the Texas Cooperative
Extension and Texas Tech University, for renovation of a viticulture
research laboratory in the amount of $20,000.00, and Jane Nickles
with the Texas Culinary Academy in Austin for the development
of a wine and food pairing guide and workshop in the amount of
$5,000.00.
The Grant Award Program was spearheaded by the Foundation in
2005 as a way to fulfill their mission of innovation, education
and research in the culinary and viticulture arts. Up to $25,000
is available annually and all Texas residents, businesses or
organizations are eligible. Thus far, four grants have been awarded
through the program, totaling over $100,000.00.
J.
Buckner Hightower, President of the Foundation commented on
the program, “The grant award program is a cornerstone
in our efforts to make a difference in the culinary and viticulture
arts. These funds actively encourage and inspire creativity and
innovation. We’ve seen some outstanding proposals and tremendous
results, which will positively affect our state and in some cases,
the country.”
This
year’s award was shared between two
deserving Texans who are making great strides for education
and research in food and wine.
Ed Hellman, PhD is a Viticulture Extension Specialist with the
Texas Cooperative Extension and holds a joint appointment with
Texas Tech University. Hellman is a long-time researcher and
a national leader in viticulture Extension. The Texas Cooperative
Extension was awarded $20,000.00 for renovations for a state-of-the-science
viticulture and enology research facility at the Agricultural
Research and Extension Center in Lubbock.
As the Associate Professor of Viticulture, Hellman recognizes
the rapid speed at which the Texas wine industry is growing and
the need for expanding research facilities to accommodate the
new program in enology.
“This laboratory will serve as a shared research facility,” Hellman
said, “it will encourage and facilitate close collaboration
of the viticulture and enology scientists to address critical
issues of the Texas wine industry.”
 Jane Nickles is a wine instructor at the Texas Culinary Academy
where she has taught for nearly ten years and also teaches wine
education classes throughout Austin. Last year her first book Wine
Speak 101 was published - a supplement to her series of wine
education seminars under the same name. With the $5,000.00 awarded
by The Wine & Food Foundation of Texas, Ms. Nickles will write
and publish a book in conjunction with a workshop focused on
the art of food and wine pairings. Entitled, When Wine
Met Food, the book will educate consumers on the mysteries
of food and wine parings how food and wine interact.
“I am more interested in the reasons behind why food and
wine work well (or don’t work well) together,” Nickles
said. “I plan to create a ‘system’ of food
and wine pairings based on the rules of taste, flavor and texture” and
know how they will interact. The end result being that “if
people know intuitively how to pick the perfect wine for any
meal, food, or occasion they will buy more Texas wine!” hopes
Nickles.
Past
Foundation grants from the Foundation’s award program
include the Sustainable Food Center, which helped in part to
fund the Austin Farmers’ Market; a children’s bilingual
nutrition pilot, Papi’s Kitchen, and also the
development of a national web-based system used by grape growers
and researchers for diagnosis of grapevine diseases. The Foundation
also awarded $25,000.00 to KLRU-TV for the production of a film
documentary produced by award-winning producer and director Tom
Spencer, The Wine Roads of Texas. The film is based
upon Wes Marshall’s definitive guide on the Texas wine
industry.
The
Foundation will accept applications for the 2008 grant cycle
in beginning in the fall of this year. Applications will be
available this fall on the Foundation’s website www.winefoodfoundation.org.
Donations and memberships to the Foundation can also be submitted
via the Foundation website or by calling the Foundation directly
at (512) 327-7555.
The
Wine & Food Foundation of Texas -
The Wine & Food Foundation of Texas is a public charity dedicated
to recognizing and developing creativity, professionalism and
state-of-the-science research in all areas of the culinary and
viticulture arts. Created in 1997, the Foundation provides
grants, scholarships and fellowships to outstanding individuals
and other entities that achieve excellence in these areas www.winefoodfoundation.org.
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