Wine varieties, old and new, line the walls of the Brelsford WSU Visitor Center. Some are provided by WSU’s Blended Learning program. Others are provided by former NFL quarterback and WSU alumnus Drew Bledsoe’s winery, and still others by partners with the viticulture and enology program.

WSU’s Cougar II from Columbia Crest, one of the wineries that partners with the university, has joined Brelsford’s limited Cougar-based selection and is expected to be another positive option for wine connoisseurs.

Cougar II is a red blend with a 2013 base of Columbia Crest Icon. The base is made predominantly in merlot grapes. Additionally, it has a syrah fermented within the drink.

Fifty-six red blends and 45 whites and blushes encapsulate the display at Brelsford.

“Everybody has different tastes but we have something here for everyone,” said Cindy Held, Visitor Center coordinator.

The idea to showcase and sell only Cougar-based wines was brought about as the Brelsford WSU Visitor Center was being constructed, she said. A connection could be anything from the winemakers or growers being WSU alumni, to the wine being made by current students in the viticulture and enology program.

Thomas Henick-Kling, director of Blended Learning, said he approached the Visitor Center about showcasing viticulture and enology program-specific wines. People would go to the visitor center and get excited about the wine being made specifically by fellow Cougars, he said.

Blended Learning was started by Henick-Kling, he said. It exists to show students the winemaking process.

As a result, students are given more than just a basic education in wine making. The experience informs them on a variety of wine making aspects such as grape selection and techniques in the fermentation and winemaking processes.

Henick-Kling became director of the program in 2009 and was presented with a list of issues that the program needed to work on, with one issue being of special importance.

“We realized we lacked some key facilities,” Henick-Kling said.

The decision was made to create the St. Michelle Estates WSU Wine Science Center in Richland, he said. A committee was formed and he worked out a first concept of the building with a local architect.

The wine science center works with many of Washington’s vineyards and wineries including Sagemoor Vineyards.

Lacey Lybeck, vineyard manager for Sagemoor Vineyards, is a WSU alumna and works closely with the university. Though she majored in agriculture food systems, she said she took as many courses in viticulture and enology as she could fit in her schedule.

Her family had been in agriculture a long time and she knew she wanted to be on the viticulture side of things, she said.

After studying abroad in France, where she worked on a family-owned vineyard and winery, she received an internship with the St. Michelle winery through the viticulture and enology program.

“Being a Coug can definitely help open doors,” Lybeck said.

Many of the wines available at the Brelsford Visitor Center have stories like these. Held said that is the purpose of their specific collection – the wine has ties to the past, ties to the present and ties to the future.

After the enthusiastic response to Cougar I, Cougar II now holds a position in this legacy.