After a year of work, the WSU Viticulture and Enology Club prepared a 2018 riesling, a type of white wine, which they will feature for Dad’s Weekend.

Ade Snider, an academic and internship coordinator for the viticulture and enology program, has served as the club adviser for the past four years, she said.

“I work with the department of horticulture here at WSU and some of the considered fathers of viticulture and enology in the state of Washington are in our department and in the college that we’re a part of,” Snider said.

The wine tasting event for Dad’s Weekend will take place at Merry Cellars, owned by winemaker Patrick Merry.

“We’re a small, boutique local winery founded in 2004 producing around five thousand cases annually, about 80 percent red and 20 percent white,” Merry said.

Merry began as a hobbyist in 2002 before starting his business at the old post office building before relocating to its current location in 2009, he said.

“It’s a labor of love,” Merry said. “There are nights when you do stay up worrying about the future but it’s been a huge success looking back 15 [or] 16 years now and I really credit the Pullman community for that.”

He added that without the restaurants, bars, grocery stores and consumers supporting Merry Cellars, the business would not be nearly as successful as it is today.

Merry, who earned all of his winemaking credentials from WSU, is providing his business as an event space for the Viticulture and Enology Club because he wants to give back, he said.

“One of the things I did not have the opportunity to do when I first started making wine was complete an apprenticeship or an internship or even just hang out at a commercial winery,” Merry said.

His main goal is to give students the opportunity to learn about the winemaking process by experiencing it hands-on, he said.

If they’re thinking about going into the industry, I think that’s very informative and it can kind of augment their classroom education,” Merry said.

Most of the employees at Merry Cellars are either WSU graduates or current WSU students, he said.

Snider is grateful for Merry and his contribution to the Viticulture and Enology Club, she said.

“We are so lucky to have him here in the Pullman community,” Snider said. “He’s there to provide support when they need it, but for the most part he’s been encouraging students to plan the events themselves.”

Entrance to the event and tasting the wine are both free, she said.

However, Snider said that attendees may order a glass of wine for $5 or purchase a bottle for $15.50 from the club or the winery.

The Viticulture and Enology Club Dad’s Weekend Wine Tasting will take place from 4-7 p.m. on Friday at Merry Cellars Winery, 1300 NE Henley Court. For more information about joining the Viticulture and Enology Club contact Ade Snider at [email protected].