UBC Wine Library

The UBC Wine Library was established in 2002 and is located in the Food, Nutrition and Health Building on the UBC Vancouver campus. With the early donation from several wineries in the Okanagan Valley, the library collection was established in order to study which grape varietals do best in specific microclimates in BC, and to study the long-term aging abilities of those wines.

Founding Director Hennie van Vuuren tours the Wine Library facility.

Wines in the inaugural collection were primarily from 1998-2001 vintages. From 2003 to 2008, bottles from each winery were opened and analyzed for aroma and flavor compounds by GC/MS and LC/MS, and evaluated for organoleptic properties through sensory analyses by an expert panel. Results of the chemical analyses were published in 2019

A second collection, donated by private collectors, consists of highly-prized first and second growth French wines from Bordeaux and Burgundy, including some of the most acclaimed wines such as Chateau Latour (dating back to the 1945 vintage) and Domaine de la Romanee-Conti.

A third collection consists of Napa Valley (California) Cabernet Sauvignons and Merlots from 1990-2000. The Wine Library also has smaller collections of Canadian ice-wine and international semi-sweet and sweet wines; champagne; and vintage port.

The Wine Library has the capacity for long term storage of more than 20,000 bottles of wine under optimal conditions. It currently holds over 4,500 bottles comprised of three major collections and a number of smaller collections, all of which have been donated to the University by vintners or private collectors.

Donations to the Wine Library

If you are interested in donating to the UBC Wine Library, please contact:

Lisa Palmer, Administrative Manager, Food, Nutrition and Health (FNH)/ Wine Research Centre (WRC) lisa.palmer@ubc.ca.