NEWSLETTER
October 2017
Advancing research to maximize the productivity, sustainability and competitiveness
 of the American grape industries.


First fruit (left) vs. summer bunch on the same vine

TABLE GRAPES: LIVING SCIENCE

Nearly all (99%) of America's table grapes are grown in California. And thanks to the diversity of the state's terroir and the industry's adaptive breeding programs, table grapes have the longest harvest timeline of all grape crops here. This year, harvest began in the desert of Southern California's Coachella Valley in May and will likely wrap up in the San Joaquin Valley near Fresno in early December. I visited California Table Grape Commission growers this month to witness harvest firsthand. What I learned is that these gorgeous grapes are a testament to science and teamwork. 
Of all grapes grown, table grapes have the highest aesthetic requirements. Destined for the fresh market, they must be large, robustly colorful and unblemished. But beauty is more than skin deep. Table grapes' other desirable characteristics include seedlessness, a crisp crunch, firm flesh and sweet flavor. They didn't just evolve this way on their own, of course. Today's table grapes are the product of intense and highly competitive breeding programs, investment in research, and table grape growers' know-how and experience.
 
You can see the impact of science and viticultural practices right on the vine. Prolific varieties can bloom several times in a growing season. The primary (main) crop that blooms in late April or May receives tons of care and attention, some of which begins well before bloom. It's clear to see the effects of pruning, leaf pulling, shoot positioning, irrigation timing and the application of plant growth regulators such as gibberellic acid on the first fruit. As shown above, it is much larger than the fruit that develops later in the season (the "summer bunch").

Table grapes are hand-harvested, inspected, and bagged for sale and packed for distribution, most often right in the field. "Swamping" the boxes onto trucks is a feat of teamwork, strength and trust, as one worker tosses the packed boxes into the air for another to catch, stack and secure for transport. Grapes are trucked to nearby cold-storage facilities where they are pre-cooled before being shipped or stored. They can be cold-stored in pristine condition for up to three months.
 
Seeing them being harvested gave me new appreciation for the grapes in the produce aisle. An amazing amount of research, labor and time goes into this deceptively simple, fun-to-eat fruit!
 
Donnell Brown
President
In This Issue
AROUND THE INDUSTRY
WILDFIRES RAGED, SMOKE TAINT SAMPLES SOUGHT

Wildfires this month left their vicious mark on the winegrape regions of Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino Counties, destroying facilities, devastating communities, leaving colleagues homeless, singeing and inundating still-hanging fruit in smoke. Our hearts are with all those affected and swell with pride over the response of the industry and consumers to the tragic events.
 
Washington State, too, struggled through wildfires this year, though in less populous places and so with less media attention. Still, between California and Washington (where there is also a thriving grape-juice industry), concerns over smoke taint have billowed.
 
Washington State University's Dr. Tom Collins is widely regarded as one of the country's leading experts on the subject of smoke taint. ( See his work here.) If you're a California winegrape grower and you think you have wines that may express a smoke taint character, Dr. Collins would like to include them in his ongoing research project in Prosser, Wa. If you can participate, he requests six 750 mL bottles of each wine for both chemical analysis and sensory evaluation. Wines should be through primary fermentation, but do not need to be ML complete and should not have had any oak contact, as some smoke-related compounds can be extracted from toasted oak staves or barrels. 

UC Davis will collect California samples for Dr. Collins. He is traveling to Davis the first week of November, and will collect submitted wines then. Email UC Davis' Kay Bogart for questions and submission information.

TEXAS TECH LAUNCHES LOCAL FOOD & WINE CONCENTRATION

With approval from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, Texas Tech University's Department of Plant & Soil Science will establish a new undergraduate degree specialization in local food and wine production systems, the first of its kind at a university in the U.S. The program will be located at both the Hill Country University Center, the university's Fredericksburg campus, and the main campus in Lubbock. And it's led by NGWI Board member Dr. Ed Hellman.
 
"This new program will provide educational opportunities for students who are interested the rapidly growing local foods industry," Texas Tech Provost  Michael Galyean said. "In addition, the Department of Plant & Soil Science will increase research and outreach activity in this new area of emphasis, while continuing to grow its ongoing efforts in viticulture and enology."
 
The specialization will introduce students to the science behind wine and winemaking, with classes like wine production and viticulture, while also introducing them to the business side of the wine industry with classes in marketing and hospitality management.
 
"Texas Tech is responding to a national trend of increased consumer interest and demand for local production of food, especially fresh fruit and vegetables," said  Dr. Hellman.
 

NIFA LISTENING SESSIONS CONTINUE; TALKING POINTS ONLINE

The USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) began a series of listening sessions this month to get input from stakeholders across the country. Two in-person regional listening sessions remain, scheduled from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at...
These sessions will be live-streamed at https://live.hosted.events/usda/. (Note: Official presentations will be viewable via live-stream but stakeholders' oral presentations will be limited to in-person participants.)
 
NIFA also is accepting input in writing via an online submission form. Use this online put form to register your attendance or provide your written input by December 1, 2017.

NGWI prepared suggested copy for our members to use as talking points or written input. Whether you are attending a live session or submitting comments online, please feel free to use or adapt our statement.

WANTED: EXTENSION PRESENTATIONS

For its Public Issues Leadership Development conference this spring, the Joint Council of Extension Professionals is looking for presentations and posters. The event will be April 8-11, 2018, in Crystal City, VA. Presentations should highlight productive (and replicate-able) models where extension fills an essential niche or provides vital leadership and ultimately helps communities to thrive. Deadline for proposals is November 15. Learn more.


RESEARCH UPDATE
$48M IN SCRI FUNDING AVAILABLE IN FY2018; DEADLINE IS DEC. 8

The bell has rung! The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) announced this month that it will distribute an anticipated $48 million in fiscal year 2018 funding for research and extension activities to enhance productivity, safety and innovation in specialty crops. Funding is made through the Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI), authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill. 
 
SCRI grants have helped to fund important research that NGWI has championed, including the ongoing VitisGen and Efficient Vineyard projects.
 
The Specialty Crop Research Initiative invites pre-applications to solve critical U.S. specialty crop issues, priorities or problems through integrated research and extension activities that use systems-based, trans-disciplinary approaches. The SCRI program will give priority to projects that are multi-state, multi-institutional or trans-disciplinary, and include clearly defined mechanisms to communicate results to producers and the public. Five focus areas for SCRI projects include research on 1) breeding, 2) pest and disease management, 3) production efficiency, 4) innovations and technology, and 5) food safety.
 
The application deadline is December 8, 2017, so sharpen those pencils! See the request for applications for complete details.


IN THE NEWS
October 24, 2017 │Agweb.com
A coalition of 66 ag-related organizations sent a letter to Congress this week, urging them to ensure that the 2018 Farm Bill improves the USDA's R&D efforts and, thereby, the country's agricultural competitiveness. The group's 10 policy recommendations include a $6 million annual funding goal for the USDA's Research, Education & Economics agency, as well as permanent funding for the SCRI grant program at no less than its current $80 million per year.

 

Report: Agriculture in Top 5 Most Automatable Industries, Above Retail

October 24, 2017 │ AgFunder News

According to a new study by McKinsey Global Institute, agriculture has among the highest potential for automation of all global industries. Notably, Agrifunder News reports," the ratings were based in part on existing technology, with no speculation about potential technological advancements coming in the future, meaning that 57% of agricultural activities are automatable today."

 
October 24, 2017 │ OIV Life
How much wine is produced in the world? In 2017, an estimated 246.7 million hectoliters. That may seem like a lot, but according to the OIV - International Organisation of Vine and Wine, it's actually down 8.2% from last year, due to low production in Italy, France and Spain.
 

Novel trans-disciplinary study uncovers microbes that may one day deter major grape disease

October 23, 2017 │ Science Daily
Researchers at the University of California, Irvine have found potentially beneficial microbes that could one day serve as bioinoculants to the pathogen that causes Pierce's disease.
 
O ctober 18, 2017 │ WineBusiness.com
The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Pierce's Disease Board and Advisory Task Force is cracking down on the glassy-winged menace and other grapevine viruses. It is recruiting a consultant to coordinate virus research, starting in 2018, and also approved funding for a study on the ecology of red blotch with Cornell University's Dr. Marc Fuchs as PI.
 
October 17, 2017 │ Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Researchers at UC Davis and the University of California, Irvine collaborated to address three mysteries about the domestication of vinifera grapes. In this just-published paper, the Cantu and Gaut Labs reveal how long ago grapes were domesticated, the identity of the genes that contributed to their domestication and the cost of domesticating "the most economically important horticultural crop in the world."
 
Response to wildfire impact on CA wine industry and smoke taint
October 17, 2017 │ UC Davis V&E Extension
From the Department of Viticulture and Enology at UC Davis comes this promising report regarding smoke taint related to the California's massive wildfires. Drs. Anita Oberholster and Karen Block write, "We do not expect a significant economic impact on Northern California's wine regions due to the fact that only a small percentage of wines may be affected by the fires and smoke." The post also is a good primer on how smoke taint works.
 
October 16, 2017 │ Wines and Vines
With smoke taint on the minds of wine-industry watchers in California and Washington, Wines & Vines offers this insightful piece on the misconceptions on the issue.
 
October 16, 2017 │ Capital Press
Grape growers in Idaho can meet and talk with experts at a climate summit November 16-17 at Boise State University, Boise State University and University of Idaho.
 
October 16, 2017 │ Inside WVU Today
West Virginia University this month launched the Center for the Future of Land-Grant Education. It's the nation's first organization devoted to advancing knowledge of land-grant issues and preserving these unique institutions for future generations.

 

Science award helps create a great science outcome

October 13, 2017 │ Wine Australia
Dr. Jake Dunlevy, a scientist at Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) , has defined the genomic locus that pulls sodium out of grapevine's water flow, reducing how much makes it to the leaves. "Knowing this provides us with the perfect genetic marker to target in our breeding program to help select new rootstocks with strong sodium exclusion," he says.
 
October 12, 2017 │ University of California Agricultural Issues Center
UC Davis agricultural economists Drs. James Lapsley and Daniel Sumner produced a report on the wine-related economic impacts of the wildfires in Napa and Sonoma Counties. In particular, they consider production and pricing for cabernet sauvignon (roughly 10% was reportedly on the vine when the fires hit) and the effect of smoke taint.
 
October 12, 2017 │ USDA
The USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture this month honored three land-grant universities for impactful projects. It also inducted four individuals, including Dr. Catherine Woteki, former Under Secretary of USDA's Research, Education, and Economics, into its Hall of Fame for their exceptional contributions to NIFA's mission.
 
September 22, 2017 │ Science
News for scientists who publish: A new study by Nature Research shows that only 1 in 8 authors choose anonymous review when given the option. The study also found that papers submitted for double-blind review are far less likely to be accepted.
 
NSF awards $36.6 million in new food-energy-water system grants
  September 19, 2017 │ National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation (NSF) and USDA NIFA are partnering to study the nexus of food, energy and water systems--three important areas that have not been studied in concert. The joint program awarded $46.6 million in new grants this year. Says Dawn Tilbury, NSF assistant director for Engineering, "To create innovative solutions to food, energy and water-related challenges, we must understand the interconnections and interdependencies involved in the complex and highly coupled systems and processes that affect society and the environment."
 
June 2017 │ Journal of Nutrition and Health
Good news for raisin lovers (and growers): Consuming raisins has been found to prevent chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, gastrointestinal diseases. Eating raisins also prevents tooth decay and helps improve gut health. And (for all you runners, cyclists and swimmers), raisins produce sustained energy equal to sports energy gels, shots and jelly beans.
 
Find these stories and more, published as we find them, on the NGWI Facebook page.


UPCOMING EVENTS
November 14, 2017
Yakima, WA
 
November 29-30, 2017
USDA Agricultural Research Service Grape Industry Workshop
Portland, OR
 
December 1, 2017
NGWI Year-End Board Meeting
Portland, OR
 
December 3-6, 2017
E. Lansing, MI
 
January 26, 2018
NGWI Annual Board Meeting
Sacramento, CA
 
February 6-8, 2018

February 20-21, 2018
Oregon Wine Symposium
Portland, OR
 
May 20-22, 2018
National Viticulture & Enology Extension Leadership Conference (NVEELC) 2018
Prosser, WA
 
Find all upcoming events on the NGWI website.