Nestled in a small corner of the Philip E. Nelson Hall of Food Science’s basement is a beautifully furnished cave-shaped room best described as a wine cellar. The Richard P. Vine Enology Library, as it’s officially called, was established in 1998 using a donation from the Bronco Wine Company in Ceres, California. Fred Franzia, the vintner’s CEO, wanted the Indiana Wine Grape Council to use the library to promote wine education, says Jill Blume, enology specialist for the Department of Food Science.

The library contains about 2,000 bottles of wine, most of which were collected by the library’s namesake, who is a professor emeritus of food science and a friend of Franzia. Purdue’s first enologist, Vine received the wine during the 1990s while he served as the wine consultant for American Airlines. During the 21 years he held that position, Vine traveled the world visiting wineries and sampling wine.

The library also contains Vine’s collection of more than 1,000 books about wine and wine making. One highlight is an 1826 printing of a book titled The Vine Dresser, signed by author John James Dufour, a prominent Indiana winemaker during that time period.

The library’s primary purpose is to engage its visitors and to deliver the latest scientific and promotional wine-grape information. “The library’s wine comes from wineries across Indiana as well as from places in France, Italy, Spain, South America, and a host of others,” Blume says. “We want those who visit the library to get a great sense of the wines’ international origins as well as to experience the kind of wine produced in our own state.”

In addition to displaying wine, the library occasionally hosts tastings, receptions, and dinners for small groups. Food science classes have also met in the library, which seats about 25 comfortably and is not open for public use. 

Some of the wines in the library have won awards at the Indy International Wine Competition, an event held on campus every summer that Vine helped establish. The largest independent wine competition in the US, the event typically draws nearly 2,000 entries from around the globe.

What are your favorite hidden gems on campus? Let us know in the comments.