(Winespectator) - New $11 million home for the Wine Business Institute will help train the future leaders of the wine industry

It's not every day that an $11 million, 15,000-square-foot temple to wine-industry knowledge opens its doors. More than 600 guests, including industry leaders, gathered yesterday in Sonoma County for the grand opening of the Wine Spectator Learning Center at Sonoma State University. The facility is the new heart of the University's Wine Business Institute, a one-of-a-kind program working to train tomorrow's leaders of the wine industry.

"Get crackin'," was Wine Spectator editor and publisher Marvin R. Shanken's advice to the students in the crowd. The Wine Spectator Scholarship Foundation anchored the financing of the new building, contributing $3 million.