Wielding a giant-sized fork, corkscrew and bottle opener, honored guests ceremonially broke ground Thursday for the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science before an audience of some 450 faculty, staff, students, elected officials and representatives of the beverage and food industries.

Participating in the event were Robert and Margrit Mondavi; Doug Muhleman, group vice president of brewing operations and technology at Anheuser-Busch Inc.; Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef; Neal Van Alfen, dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences; and Clare Hasler, executive director of the institute.

Assemblymember Lois Wolk, D-Davis, and state Sens. Mike Machado, D-Linden, and Wesley Chesbro, D-Arcata, were also present, representing the state's significant investment in the institute through voter-approved bonds.

"We at UC Davis are grateful to Robert and Margrit Mondavi, Anheuser-Busch Inc. and the State of California for making the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science a reality," said Vanderhoef.

Added Robert Mondavi. "It is an honor for our family, which has been involved in wine and food for four generations. We expect great things from this institute for many, many years to come."

Hasler called the celebration "An historic occasion, not only for the institute and UC Davis, but also for the state of California. We are taking the first step toward drawing together the people, ideas and resources that will position the RMI as the global innovator in university-based wine and food programs."

Scheduled to open in early 2008, the institute will house UC Davis' top-ranked departments of Viticulture and Enology and Food Science and Technology.

The first building to be constructed will be a 129,600-square-foot academic building, which will be built in three wings wrapping around a courtyard that will face westward toward a teaching vineyard and open space.

In addition, a teaching-and-research winery and a brewing-and-food-science laboratory also will be built. Construction of the institute's facilities has been made possible by a combination of state and private funds. In 2004, voters earmarked $33.6 million for construction of the academic building as part of the $12.3 billion statewide Proposition 55 bond measure.

The institute was established in 2001 with a $25 million gift from Robert Mondavi. The Anheuser-Busch Foundation has provided $5 million in matching funds to help construct the institute's brewing-and-food-science laboratory, and Ronald Miller and Diane Disney Miller donated $1 million for the institute's winery.