The groundbreaking ceremony for the Cornell Lake Erie Research and Extension Laboratory in Portland, N.Y., will take place Oct. 29 at the site of the new lab in Chautauqua County at 1 p.m.

Expected to attend are State Commissioner of Agriculture Patrick Hooker '84, N.Y. State Sen. Catharine M. Young (R-Olean), New York Assemblyman Bill Parment (D-Jamestown) and New York State Agricultural Experiment Station Director Thomas J. Burr, as well as grape growers, industry representatives and local officials.

With almost $5.4 million of state funding appropriated in May 2006, Cornell's new laboratory will conduct innovative research and extension programs to serve grape growers in western New York and beyond. The facility will provide expanded field research, modernized laboratory space for research on juice and wine quality, additional office space for research and extension staff and visiting scientists, and meeting space for grower education and training.

The state-of-the-art facility, which is in Chautauqua County in the Lake Erie region, includes 53 acres; the design phase of the project is nearing completion, site improvements are under way, and building construction will begin next spring. Anticipated completion is early 2009. Researchers will plant 10 acres of new grapes on the site in spring 2008.

Cornell has conducted research and extension programs on a 30-acre vineyard in the village of Fredonia since 1961. The existing laboratory and field research acreage will be sold. Proceeds will be invested in the long-term operations of the new facility in Portland.

Aaron Goldweber is a former communications specialist in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.