Scholarship winner Allison Baker has amazingly good senses.
The generous WWIF scholarship Allison won directly aided her in completing her PhD in Food Science at Washington State University, focused on exploring sensory skills within food and beverage applications.
The WWIF scholarship helped Allison balance tuition, mandatory student fees, and other costs associated with her studies and research. One research study she conducted led to the production of 350 bottles of her own wine. “Without the WWIF scholarship, it would have definitely been a lot harder to make ends meet.”
One of the best things about living in Michigan is visiting wine shops in the mid-west to see what Washington wines are being sold nationwide. I feel proud to be associated with Washington wine.
In addition to WWIF’s financial support, winning the scholarship gave her the opportunity to be an active participant in the annual Washington Association of Wine Grape Growers conference, where she made valuable connections and became more involved with the wine producing community.
Currently, Allison is working hands-on in a sensory position in the food industry at Nestle, an opportunity that took her out of Washington for the time being. While she may be out of state now, Washington wine is always on her mind.
“One of the best things about living in Michigan is visiting wine shops in the mid-west to see what Washington wines are being sold nationwide. I feel proud to be associated with Washington wine,” she says.
Allison is enjoying her time at Nestle, gaining skills in the food services industry, and will apply that knowledge in the future to her true passion. “I want to come home to Washington to start my own label,” Allison says. “After making my own wine with WWIF’s help, I’d love to eventually make my own wine.”