Twelve years ago, the Wine-By-Cougars Wine Club was created by the WSU Alumni Association (WSUAA) with several goals in mind: to raise the profile of Cougs in the wine industry, to engage alumni who are passionate about wine, and to help people learn more about WSU’s efforts to educate future generations of wine-industry leaders.
Wine-By-Cougars (WBC) has featured hundreds of Cougar-connected wineries over the years, with quarterly shipments to over 600 members (and counting!). Ron Stanley ’78, WBC member and WSUAA Platinum Life Member, has been a part of WBC since the beginning.
So what’s special about the Wine-By-Cougars Wine Club? Ron says, “The concept of using wineries that are Cougar-connected is brilliant! The opportunity to taste unique hand-selected wines from Cougar wineries (many of which I had never heard of) was a big draw. In addition, it makes me so proud to know how many great wines are produced by WSU alumni. It feels like I’m always ‘buying local’ with each shipment, because everyone wins: the club member, the winery, the industry, and the University.”
As a result of WBC’s success and the success of the Cougar Collectors’ Series (you can find Cougar V retailers near you at alumni.wsu.edu/cougarv), the WSU Alumni Association has been able to endow two scholarships at WSU; one in viticulture and enology and one in wine and beverage business management. In addition to enjoying great wines, WBC members are also helping the next generation of wine-industry leaders from WSU.
WBC is open to all Cougs over 21, who live in a state WBC can ship to, and who are members of the WSUAA. As Ron says, “Try it out!”
To learn more about the Wine-By-Cougars Wine Club, go to winebycougars.com.