BATON ROUGE - The Southern University Ag Center is having its 3rd Annual Vino on the Bluff fundraiser Friday night.

The event will feature a wine tasting, whiskey tasting and an R&B concert. All proceeds go towards funding student scholarships and Ag Center programs. Get your ticket here.

The event is just one way the school is supporting the wine industry. The big project is the vineyard they've been growing on campus that will serve as the testing ground while researchers try to develop a grape suited for a Louisiana climate. 

Dr. Devaiah Kambiranda is an agriculture professor at the Ag Center. He says they started this vineyard back in March of 2020.

"People have the perception that we cannot produce a quality crop here, but we are trying to do everything we can to justify that we can," Kambiranda said.

Right now there are only nine vineyards in the state, but the research happening on the Bluff is striving to raise that number.

"If we can try to increase this crop here, we can get more locally-grown grapes and people can enjoy locally-produced wine."

Joshua Reason is a research student who works closely with Dr. Kambiranda. He says they have a wide array of grape options on the vineyard.

"At least over 80-plus varieties of grapes, probably more. We have muscadines, we have hybrids," Reason said.

The main problem with growing grapes in Louisiana is the climate, which is why the Ag Center is working to create a special grape that can be grown and harvested here.

"We're pretty much trying to create different varieties that will grow in this state which are hybrids and that are good for wine making," Reason said.

So far, the research has been successful, and the team says you might even hear about a Southern University wine in the future.

"We are in the process of finding a professional wine maker so we can produce really, quality wine," Kambiranda said.