Washington State University To Build Wine Science Center

When the state's wine industry cashes in at $8.6 billion per year, it should be no surprise that Washington State University is ready to take the industry by the horns. 

The Wine Science Center is set to open in Richland a year from now, the Seattle Times reports. That means grape crushing could begin as early as the 2014 harvest (which feels very far away, but it's not). The goal of the center is to educate winemakers and complete research for grape growers. 

Said Steve Warner, executive director for the Washington Wine Commission to the Seattle Times, the state is ready to show off its bigwig status in the wine world. "It's an acknowledgment that we are a burgeoning regional wine industry and we are willing to make this investment in the future, to really cement our place in the global wine world as a place of superior-quality wines," he said. Plus, it will be a testament to Washington wines and the care they need — different from California wines and Old World wines.