Directs president of Rutgers, The State University to appoint chief viticulturist and chief enologist.

A4388

ASSEMBLY, No. 4388

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 19, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman� ALEX SAUICKIE

District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)

SYNOPSIS

���� Directs president of Rutgers, The State University to
appoint chief viticulturist and chief enologist.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act
concerning personnel at Rutgers, The State University
and supplementing chapter 65 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.�

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1. The president of Rutgers,
The State University shall appoint a chief viticulturist to the university.�
The chief viticulturist shall lead research in grape science and production in
the State.� The chief viticulturist shall report directly to the president of
the university.

���� 2. The president of Rutgers,
The State University shall appoint a chief enologist at the Food Innovation
Center of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station.�� The chief enologist
shall
apply a combination of scientific knowledge
and winemaking knowledge to assist wineries in the State in developing new
wines and improving the quality of wine produced in the State.� The chief
enologist
shall report directly to the director of the Food Innovation
Center.

���� 3. This act shall take effect
immediately.�

STATEMENT

���� This
bill directs the president of Rutgers, The State University to appoint a chief
viticulturist and a chief enologist at the university.����

���� Under the bill, the president
of Rutgers, The State University is required to appoint a chief viticulturist
to the university.� The chief viticulturist is to lead research in grape
science and production in the State.� The chief viticulturist is to report
directly to the president of the university.

���� The bill also requires the president
of Rutgers to appoint a chief enologist at the Food Innovation Center of the
New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station.�� The chief enologist is to
apply a combination of scientific knowledge and
winemaking knowledge to assist wineries in the State in developing new wines
and improving the quality of wine produced in the State.� The chief enologist

is to report directly to the director of the Food Innovation Center.�

���� State support for wine industries is particularly
vigorous in Virginia, Washington, New York, and Oregon.� In 1984, the Virginia
General Assembly established the Virginia Wine Board (then called the Virginia
Winegrowers Advisory Board) and created staff positions, including a state
enologist and state viticulturist at Virginia Tech, to promote the development
of the wine industry. �In Washington, the Washington State Wine Commission is a
state government agency established by the state legislature in 1987 and funded
by assessments on state grape and wine sales.� The commission is responsible
for promoting, raising awareness of, and demand for, Washington wines both
domestically and internationally through educational programs, marketing and
communications, and viticulture and enology research.� In collaboration with
Washington State University, a total of $1.12 million in funding was provided
by the commission and the university for research programs in viticulture,
enology, and agricultural economics from 2021 to 2022.� The New York Wine and
Grape Foundation is a state government agency established by state statute in
1985, and funded by state appropriations.� The purpose of the foundation is to
promote New York grapes and wines to benefit farmers, producers, and consumers
through marketing, research, communication, and advocacy.� Like the Washington
State Wine Commission and New York Wine and Grape Foundation, the Oregon Wine
Board is a semi-independent state agency established in Oregon statute.� Among
its numerous duties are funding viticulture and enology research.���