By Melanie Jackson, FAPC Communications Assistant

(Stillwater, Okla. – April 14, 2017) Oklahoma State University’s Robert M. Kerr Food & Agricultural Products Center promoted Made in Oklahoma wine and food products during the annual Wine Forum of Oklahoma.

Held on OSU’s Stillwater campus April 7-8, the annual event featured wineries from around the United States and top Oklahoma chefs through educational seminars, wine tasting, and food and wine pairings.

“Oklahoma vineyards and wineries were asked to submit their wines to FAPC for an opportunity to participate in the forum,” said William McGlynn, FAPC horticultural products processing specialist. “We highlighted three Oklahoma wineries that presented a selection of wines for tasting.”

The three participating wineries were Canadian River Winery of Lexington, Oklahoma; Pecan Creek Winery of Muskogee, Oklahoma; and Waddell Vineyards of Ada, Oklahoma.

Wine Forum attendees tasted the state-produced wines during the Grand Tasting, which included 28 wineries from all over the world.

“The Wine Forum provides the Oklahoma wine industry a great place to showcase wines made from Oklahoma-grown grapes,” said Jill Stichler of Canadian River Winery. “Presenting Oklahoma wines in a venue with wines from all over the world and being competitive with those wines is a great opportunity.”

The session also highlighted three state food companies: Ralph’s Packing Co. of Perkins, Oklahoma; Lovera’s Handcrafted Foods of Krebs, Oklahoma; and Diane’s Signature Products of Edmond, Oklahoma.

“We wanted to choose a variety of Made in Oklahoma products that pair well with wine,” said Andrea Graves, FAPC business planning and marketing specialist. “The Grand Tasting is an excellent way to promote Made in Oklahoma wines and food products in front of the more than 900 participants of this exclusive event.”

Diane Mashore of Diane’s Signature Products said she was thrilled to participate in the event.

“I am amazed that such a high caliber event takes place right here in Oklahoma and extremely pleased with the exposure Diane’s Signature Dressings got because of being a part of the Grand Tasting,” Mashore said. “I might not have had the opportunity elsewhere to be in front of this group of people if it weren’t for FAPC and the Wine Forum organizers. I had two businesses that wanted to begin carrying my products right there on the spot as a result.”

FAPC, a part of OSU’s Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, is celebrating its 20-year anniversary in 2017. Since its inception in January 1997, the center’s research laboratories, pilot-processing facilities, educational programs and seminars have kept food and agricultural processors and entrepreneurs on the forefront of cutting-edge value-added processing and technology.

For more information about the Wine Forum of Oklahoma, please visit www.wineforumofoklahoma.com.

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Oklahoma State University is a modern land-grant university that prepares students for success. OSU has more than 36,000 students across its five-campus system and more than 25,000 on its combined Stillwater and Tulsa campuses, with students from all 50 states and around 120 nations. Established in 1890, Oklahoma State has graduated more than 260,000 students who have been serving Oklahoma and the world for 125 years.