University of California-Davis students participate in a grape crush. The school has launched its own label to sell wines made by students, staff and faculty. (Courtesy Gregory Urquiaga, UC-Davis)

The University of California-Davis has launched its own small batch wine label and sales will benefit student scholarships.

The wines are made by students, staff and faculty from grapes they grow in the Napa Valley and around campus in Yolo County.

“These wines represent our students, their knowledge, creativity and learning,” said Ben Montpetit, chairman of the department of viticulture and enology.

“From vine to bottle, our students are involved in every step,” Montpetit said in a news release.

Previously, wines made by UC-Davis students, including in a 10-week winemaking course, had to be discarded.

The wine label, Hilgard631, pays homage to Eugene Hilgard, founding director of the university’s agricultural research station. The numbers are the address of the teaching and research winery on campus.

Wines sold under Hilgard631 label include a 2020 Cabernet sauvignon and a 2024 Sauvignon blanc made from grapes at Oakville Station, a research and teaching vineyard in the heart of Napa County.

Twelve other wines made by students in the product development class, known as VEN 127L, also will be for sale.

VEN 127L has traditionally focused on blending, wine stabilization, bottling and label design. Now students also will consider selling the wines, said professor David Block, who created the course in 2017 when he led the department.

“It’s a new aspect of the program. It’s more sustainable than pouring it down the drain,” Block said, in the news release.

Wines will range in price from $30 to $40 per bottle for student labels and from $50 to $125 per bottle for the Oakville wines.

For more information, go to Hilgard631.org.