Portland State Magazine Fall 2011

Green wineries uncorked FOR GENERATIONS, che on ly thing char maccered when it came co wine was caste. Noc anymore, according co North– west wineries, leaders in sustainable practices. Today, connoisseurs wane to know how the grapes are grown, whether wineries treat the land respect– fully, and how much waste the industry produces. To char end, business professor Mellie Pullman and her students conducted interviews of 25 Oregon and Washington wineries about their eco-friendly practices and why they're imporranc. 1hey found wineries char limit pesticide and herbicide use, make use of bio-fuel in their equipment, and distribute wine in 2.5-gallon reusable mini kegs rather than indi– vidual boccies. Their study results were published in che journal ofWine Research. "There's definitely an Oregon ethos in terms of believing in the natural world and trying co enhance the production of grapes," Pullman says. She found chat raking care of the land is intricately linked co producing excellent wine. Oregon winery Sokol Blosser, for example, uses cover crops rather chan herbicides co control weeds, and those cover crops provides nutrients when worked back into the soil. okol Blosser was also the first winery in the country to earn prestigious LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) cer– tification for a building on its property. Other Oregon wineries are pushing co reduce waste in packaging, such as The scoop on the new Ben & Jerry's COME TO CAMPUS fora Ben& Jerry's Triple Caramel Chunk ice cream cone and know you are helping young people in Porcland. This summer New Avenues for Youth opened its second Ben & Jerry's Parmer– Shop in the PSU Urban Center Plaza at Southwest Sixth and Mill. New Avenues use the shops co give young people work experience and entrepreneurial skills. The new shop's assistant manager, Charlyn Neal, was homeless when she first came co New Avenues. Today she is a 21-year-old mother with her own apartment. New Avenues also expects the close proximity co Portland State co spark new educational ambitions for its ice cream scoopers. PSU's School of Social Work is helping by developing graduate intern– ships and a work-study mentor program with New Avenues as well as scholar– ships for the young people it serves. This summer, New Avenues for Youth opened a Ben & Jerry's scoop shop on campus in partnership with PSU and the School of Social Work. PARK BLOCKS All aspects of the Northwest wine business-from grape growing to distribution-was the focus of a study conducted by business students under professor Mellie Pullman. switching co screw caps and skipping the lead foil chat wraps around bottle necks. While Pacific Northwest wineries produce 90 percent ofU. . wine not made in California, cheir relatively small size allows chem co make sustainable changes, says Pullman. Banner fund-raising year Portland State experienced a 22 percent increase in philanthropic support, making the 2010-11 fiscal year the best ever in gifts received by the University. Private donors and organizations contributed more than $15. 7 million to PSU people, programs, and research. "We are extremely grateful for this unprecedented level of giving, particularly during these tough economic times," says PSU President Wim Wiewel. "These donations directly support students and help PSU keep the cost of a quality education within reach of Oregonians." ■ FALL 2011 PORTLAND STATE MAGAZINE 5