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Food and Wine


“It’s simply the greatest wine library in the world.”

Hugh Johnson, British wine expert and author of the World Atlas of Wine


One of a Kind: 12th-Century Manuscript on Wine

The earliest wine manuscript in our collections is a 12th-century bifolium from the library of legendary wine merchant and writer André Simon.

The UC Davis Library’s food and wine collections tell the story of California’s global impact and significance in wine, craft beer brewing, organic farming, and cuisine.

Our wine collections support UC Davis’ top-ranked viticulture and enology program — and visiting scholars from around the world — with 30,000 books in more than 50 languages, rare books and manuscripts, historic records and research data, the papers of leading writers on California wine, and materials in every medium, from vintage wine labels to videos. 

Our growing collections on the Northern California Food Movement document the rise and influence of organic and biodynamic farming, the farm-to-table and slow food movements, and farmers’ markets and artisanal food making as elements of California cuisine. We also collect and celebrate the contributions of women and diverse communities in elevating organic agriculture, wine, craft-beer brewing, food and cuisine.

Wine Label Collections

The Archives and Special Collections Department holds a vast number of historical wine labels from around the world. These resources can inspire storytelling through the artistry of design by providing historical background, visual history, and examples of changes to wine label design over time.

More about Wine Labels

Savor: Lectures on Food and Wine

Join us for quarterly conversations with experts, thought leaders, policy makers and entrepreneurs that illuminate some of the biggest topics in food and wine being studied at UC Davis today. Co-hosted with UC Davis’ Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science.

Visit the Savor Website

Wine Writer Collections

Wine writers have made a tremendous impact on both the industry and public appreciation of wine. With support from Napa winemaker and philanthropist Warren Winiarski, we aspire to create the greatest collection on wine writers in the world.

More about Wine Writers

Spurrier-Winiarski Wine Writer-in-Residence Award

Created in recognition of Steven Spurrier and Warren Winiarski, this $50,000 award supports research, writing, and publication of a long-form project that offers a new perspective on the UC Davis Library’s wine writing collection. Application deadline extended to November 10, 2023.

Award Details


Featured Collections

Chef Martin Yan creates legacy archive at UC Davis Library

World-renowned celebrity chef and UC Davis alum Martin Yan donated his collection of cookbooks, thousands of photographs, and videos, media clips and slides taken as he traveled the world to film his legendary food and travel show, “Yan Can Cook.”

Amerine Wine Labels

Browse through 5,000+ wine labels collected by former UC Davis viticulture and enology professor Maynard Amerine, considered to be the driving force behind the post-Prohibition wine industry in California. Spanning from the 1800s through the 1950s, the Amerine wine label collection provides a meaningful window into the history of winemaking during a pivotal time in the industry.

Featured Exhibits

A Tale of Two Tastings

Two archival collections shed new light on the Judgment of Paris, the 1976 blind tasting that put California wines on the global map.

Research and Teaching with Our Food and Wine Collections

Our collections are available for use by UC Davis faculty, researchers and students, as well as visiting scholars and members of the public.

Multimedia

Wine Writers Collection (video playlist)
Filled with insight — and laughs — this series of conversations with some of the world’s top wine writers is something you won’t want to miss. Watch them here.

Learn Winemaking from UC Davis Greats (video playlist)
These videos from UC Davis’ 1973-74 viticulture and enology curriculum provide a unique window into the history of winemaking, as well as pearls of wisdom that continue to guide some of the world’s best winemakers today. Thanks to E&J Gallo Winery and the Napa Valley Wine Library Association for supporting the digitization of this video archive.