Wine Professor, DEI Leader Selected as the ASEV 2023 Extension Distinction Award Recipient

Davis, Calif., March 20, 2023… Dr. Anna Katharine Mansfield, associate director of Cornell AgriTech and associate professor of enology at Cornell University, has been confirmed as the American Society for Enology and Viticulture (ASEV) 2023 Extension Distinction Award recipient.  She will be presenting, “Would You Rather Be Right or Kind? The Ideal vs. the Real in Enology Extension,” at the 74^th ASEV National Conference in Napa, California, on June 26-29, 2023.

“I don’t think there are many extension enologists whose efforts compare to those of Anna Katharine’s in supporting the U.S. wine and grape industry,” says Keith Striegler, ASEV board president.

In 2014, Mansfield was appointed to associate professor of food science and in 2021 took on an additional role as the associate director of Cornell AgriTech, where she acts as lead for its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

She focuses her efforts on helping regional wineries through enology extension and applied research on wine production processes. Her research interests include tannin extraction and retention in red wines, color stability of diglucoside anthocyanins, the effect of protein on sparkling wine foam, and defining regional identity in developing winegrowing areas.

“I love applied science, and love helping industry members access the science they want and need,” says Mansfield. “Extension lets me use my communication skills and creativity to deliver relevant information in fun, actionable forms.”

The ASEV Extension Distinction Award is given to a current ASEV member and extension educator based on their contributions to enology or viticulture through their extension program, or the translation of novel research findings into commercially applicable tools for enologists or viticulturists. She was the first enologist hired by the University of Minnesota, where she created the enology extension program to assist northern winemakers working with the new V. riparia-based cold-hardy winegrapes.

Mansfield received her Bachelor of Arts in Salem College, North Carolina, where she was introduced to the wine industry as a college student. She earned graduate degrees in food science at Virginia Tech and the University of Minnesota where she studied wine flavor chemistry and sensory science. Mansfield has received awards and honors from Cornell CALS as a member of the COVID-19 Food Safety Response Team for Outstanding Accomplishment in Extension/Outreach (2021), Atlantic Seaboard Wine Association’s Wine Grape Productivity Award in 2020, and Minnesota Grape Growers Association’s Gold Award for Contributions to Northern Viticulture. She recently received the 2022 National Experiment Station Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award.

She is an author and coauthor of nearly 30 refereed journal articles. In addition, she authors extension newsletter and trade articles and is a regular speaker presenting throughout the midwestern and eastern United States.

Founded in 1950 by a group of researchers and winemakers, the Society is dedicated to the interests of enologists, viticulturists and others in the fields of wine and grape research and production throughout the world. The ASEV National Conference is a forum for sharing and disseminating the latest scientific information relevant to winemaking and grape growing. For more information about the 74^th ASEV National Conference and the second part of the Climate Change Symposium on June 26-29, 2023, in Napa, California, visit asev.org.