By Justin Bannister
NMSU News Service
New Mexico State University's School of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management will soon be home to the Bobby Lee Lawrence Academy of Wine.
The beverage management laboratory will be named for Lawrence, known throughout the area as the "Southwest Wine Guy," who passed away earlier this year. The $250,000 gift was made by Lawrence's wife, Marion.
"Teaching people about wine was his passion. He just loved it," said Marion Lawrence. "I'm excited about preserving his legacy. His passion for all things wine should be passed on to future generations in the best possible way, and the Bobby Lee Lawrence Academy of Wine will do that."
Lawrence was known around Las Cruces as a wine and food expert. He trained at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and the Culinary Institute of America. He taught about wine at area wine festivals, wrote about wine for Sabroso magazine and had his own wine blog. Lawrence also had a successful media career.
The beverage laboratory will help the school expand its wine education courses and provide additional space for classes.