CLINE CELLARS AND PARTNERS ENDOW $17.1 million gift to NC State viticulture and enology program

Fred and Nancy Cline, owners of Sonoma’s Cline Cellars and Jacuzzi Family Vineyards, along with their partners at The Cellars at Betty’s Creek, recently donated land valued at $17.1 million to North Carolina State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

The gift, which comprises a conservation easement valued at $15.5 million and $1.6 million in sellable lots, will fund an endowed professorship, an endowed apprenticeship and a North Carolina Cooperative Extension program endowment.

The Clines, along with The Cellars at Betty’s Creek co-owners Christopher Collins and John McNeill, are known for their ecologically sound and sustainable business practices in wine production, land development and preservation.

Their new residential development in the mountains of Western North Carolina, The Cellars at Betty’s Creek, is an exclusive 600-acre gated community with 33 home sites and approximately 500 acres of proposed conservation easement.

With grape growing and winemaking being overseen by industry veterans Fred and Nancy Cline of Sonoma, Calif., The Cellars at Betty’s Creek combines property ownership with vineyard surroundings, as well as private-labeled wines.

The endowment fund, only the second of its kind outside of California, will establish:

• Cline Cellars Distinguished Professorship in Viticulture and Enology, supporting a preeminent scholar in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences who contributes to the field of viticulture and/or enology through applied research and extension programs.
• Cline Cellars Viticulture/Enology Apprenticeship and Internship Endowment, which will fund the activities of an NC State graduate student working in the area of viticulture and/or enology. The position will include academic training, research on applied problems and a full semester plus summer internship with industry representatives in California or Western Europe.
• Cline Cellars Viticulture, Enology and Horticulture Endowment for Cooperative Extension, which will be used to support extension agents in Jackson, NC and surrounding counties who will work closely with the distinguished professor and extension specialists in the areas of viticulture, enology, organic fruits and vegetables, food science, soil science, crop science, plant pathology and entomology. Extension agents will provide demonstration projects and conduct field days and other public educational programs.

“We are extremely grateful to The Cellars at Betty’s Creek for this generous and forward-thinking contribution to our College, and by extension of our work, to the entire state of North Carolina,” said Dr. Johnny C. Wynne, dean of the NC State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. “The new positions and programs made possible by this gift have the potential to play a major role in accelerating the growth of the state’s burgeoning wine and grape industry.”

The gift will be managed by the NC Agricultural Foundation Inc., based in the NC State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. The Foundation will partner with the Little Tennessee Land Trust to manage the conservation easement in The Cellars at Betty’s Creek.

“Cline Cellars and Jacuzzi Family Vineyards are honored to partner with this dedicated group of North Carolina State scholars to advance viticulture and enology applied research, education, and entrepreneurship,” said Nancy Cline. “We are huge supporters of community programs and offer sustainable farming internships through our Green String Institute. North Carolina’s ‘Farm to School’ program had a record year for providing locally farmed food to schools. Their success garnered our attention.”

Cline Cellars, located in the Carneros region of Sonoma, is owned and operated by Fred and Nancy Cline. Established in 1982, Cline produces rich, distinctive Rhone-style wines and intense Zinfandels for which it has garnered enormous acclaim. The Cline’s currently own and manage vineyards in diverse viticultural areas including Sonoma-Carneros, Contra Costa County and Petaluma, Sonoma Coast AVA. They produce and market wines under the following labels: Cline Cellars and Jacuzzi Family Vineyards.

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