Celebration of Wine & Science
Feb
22
2026
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Eric Anslyn -
Diana Zamora-Olivares
Feb
22
2026
-
Eric Anslyn
-
Diana Zamora-Olivares
Description
Join us at the stunning new Hill Country location of Fall Creek Vineyards for an immersive day of wine and science at this ticketed experience. As The University of Texas at Austin celebrates 20 years of its Freshman Research Initiative, learn about how undergraduates in one lab have helped illuminate the chemistry of wine now for more than a decade. This unique event offers guests a behind-the-scenes tour of a working vineyard and winery, a deep dive into the art and science of wine-making and hands-on activities including a pruning session where participants learn the importance and techniques of vine care.
Enjoy a curated tasting of five wines, featuring both bottled selections and exclusive barrel samples of upcoming releases, with each tasting paired with decadent chocolate truffles crafted using the very wines being sampled. Guests will also receive a custom Fall Creek Vineyards wine glass to commemorate the experience and have the opportunity to purchase their favorite wines on-site.
The event, overlapping with the 20th anniversary of UT’s Freshman Research Initiative (FRI), features a special science talk from UT Professor of Chemistry Eric Anslyn. He’ll highlight the fascinating work of the Supra Sensors student research team, whose work in the lab involves analyzing and classifying biological samples such as wine, grapevine leaves and berries – shedding light on how environmental factors influence chemical composition and terroir.
- Tickets must be purchased in advance to participate. Deadline to purchase is February 7.
- Tickets include:
- 3 hour experience at Fall Creek Winery with owner Sergio Cuadra and Winemaker Chris Aldridge
- Hands on winery activities including vine pruning
- Curated wine tasting paired with custom chocolate and wine truffles
- Commemorative Fall Creek wine glass
About the Speakers
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Eric Anslyn
Professor
Department of Chemistry, UT Austin
Eric V. Anslyn’s research is in the areas of physical organic and supramolecular chemistry, focused on deciphering reaction mechanisms, novel methods for chemosensing, materials chemistry and information encoding. He received ...
Eric V. Anslyn’s research is in the areas of physical organic and supramolecular chemistry, focused on deciphering reaction mechanisms, novel methods for chemosensing, materials chemistry and information encoding. He received his B.S. in chemistry from California State University Northridge in 1982. He did his doctoral work at Caltech, receiving a Ph.D. in 1987. Afterwards, he was an NSF postdoctoral fellow at Columbia University. From there, he started as an assistant professor of chemistry at The University of Texas at Austin in 1989. At UT Austin, he rose through the ranks to currently hold the Welch Regents Chair of Chemistry. Anslyn is a University Distinguished Teaching Professor, as well as an HHMI Professor. He was recently inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
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Diana Zamora-Olivares
Associate Professor of Practice
UT Austin Freshman Research Initiative
Diana Zamora-Olivares is co-director of the UT Wine Initiative and an associate professor of practice at The University of Texas at Austin. She earned her Ph.D. in organic chemistry in ...
Diana Zamora-Olivares is co-director of the UT Wine Initiative and an associate professor of practice at The University of Texas at Austin. She earned her Ph.D. in organic chemistry in 2014 under UT’s Eric V. Anslyn, where she developed biochemical sensing tools and advanced multiplexed kinase quantitation for cancer biomarker research. Today, her expertise focuses on creating sensor technologies and analytical methods to classify wines and understand grapevine chemistry, bridging her background in chemical sensing with applications in viticulture and enology. Through the Freshman Research Initiative and the UT Wine Initiative, Dr. Zamora-Olivares promotes academic-industry partnerships that share knowledge and complement emerging technologies. These collaborations provide Texas wineries with a platform to leverage scientific data for practical applications.
Location
Fall Creek Vineyards
7585 Ranch Road 12, San Marcos, TX