OPINION: Driving Force Behind WSU V&E Department Retires

By Angela Sams, Washington State University

Throughout his successful, 46-year career, Thomas Henick-Kling has contributed many impactful research findings, advised wine industry members, taught wine microbiology and winemaking classes, and helped plan and launch wine science centers at three universities.

“I’ve been lucky to work at many great places and form collaborative research and teaching partnerships across the globe,” said Henick-Kling, who retired from Washington State University in June 2025 and will remain a professor emeritus in the Department of Viticulture and Enology (V&E). “I’m grateful for the industry support I’ve experienced everywhere I’ve been.”

Building The Wine Science Center From The Ground Up

WSU hired Henick-Kling in 2009 as a professor and director of its burgeoning V&E program. He proceeded to mold the program into what it is today, securing approval for a new undergraduate degree and establishing the Ste. Michelle Wine Estates WSU Wine Science Center on the WSU Tri-Cities campus. 

“He almost single-handedly created the Wine Science Center,” said WSU Chateau Ste. Michelle Distinguished Professor in Viticulture Markus Keller, who first worked with Henick-Kling as a post-doctoral researcher at Cornell University. “Simply put, without Thomas, there would be no Wine Science Center.”

Completed in 2015, the center is a hub of cutting-edge research in the heart of Washington wine country where faculty and students study grapevine physiology and diseases, irrigation needs, fermentation microbiology, wine chemistry, sensory evaluation, and more. 

“The center was an amazing project to be part of,” Henick-Kling said. “It’s unbelievable that such a diverse group of people come together and made it happen. I enjoyed hearing from the industry advisory and wine science faculty about key areas of research that should be addressed, then figuring out the intricacies of the center’s spaces and the equipment needed to make that happen.” 

Blended Learning

More recently, Henick-Kling initiated the planning of WSU’s new brewing certificate program and guided its development. He is especially proud of the Blended Learning student winemaking project he established in 2012. 

“I wanted our students to be involved in all phases of winemaking, from planning and creating to selling a unique, high-quality product,” Henick-Kling said. “The project challenges students to apply what they’ve learned in class and ask questions. It also allows them to gain hands-on experience in commercial vineyards and wineries and establish industry connections they can use to find employment.” 

Originally from Germany, Henick-Klick came to the U.S. in 1978 to study geography, then pivoted to pursue a master’s degree in microbiology at Oregon State University. He later received a PhD in biochemistry from the University of Adelaide, where he was the first graduate student at the Australia Wine Research Institute. 

Henick-Kling then joined Cornell University as its first enology professor. During the next 20 years, he founded an enology program, helped design and build a small research winery, and planned and implemented an undergraduate V&E degree. He also worked with the university’s grape breeding program to produce several commercialized cultivars with improved disease and cold temperature tolerance. 

Henick-Kling returned to Australia in 2007 as a professor at Charles Sturt University and director of its National Wine and Grape Industry Centre, where he planned a new research winery and built an Extension program. Two years later, he joined the WSU faculty. 

“He was instrumental in developing the wine program at Cornell, engaging the researchers with industry and fostering an educational program to introduce undergraduates and graduate students to the field,” said Wade Wolfe, a longtime friend and industry member who served on the WSU selection committee that hired Henick-Kling. “It was a great model for what we needed in Washington. He did a great job providing the initial framework for that objective despite many challenges in trying to incorporate this new program into the WSU structure.”  

Research That Has Impacted The Wine Industry

Henick-Kling’s research highlights include his work on how native and inoculated bacteria and yeasts affect wine fermentation and flavor. He has long studied yeast nutrient status in grapes, working with other researchers to show how yeast nutrient deficiency can cause a sluggish or stuck fermentation that must be corrected to avoid off flavors in wines. This research led to guidelines now commonly used in the winemaking industry for nutrient supplementation. 

Henick-Kling helped patent a starter culture medium for winemaking that became the basis for commercial starter culture production worldwide. He also initiated research in the U.S. on the major wine spoilage yeast, leading to a widespread understanding of its occurrence and control in winemaking. 

The wine scientist’s influence on WSU’s V&E department is one that will persist long into the future. 

“Thomas’s legacy is one of both vision and perseverance,” said V&E Department Chair Jean Dodson Peterson. “He came to WSU with a bold sense of what was possible and worked tirelessly to make it happen. His impact will continue to be felt in the students he has mentored and the infrastructure he helped build.”