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Advancing research to maximize the productivity, sustainability and competitiveness
of the American grape industries.
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Gewürztraminer vines at Galen Glen Winery in the foothills of Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains
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SCHOOLED BY STUDENTS
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Attending academic conferences is a terrific way to learn what scientists are working on today, what research challenge they're thinking about tackling tomorrow, and, for those in extension, what they're being asked for and about by growers right now. The American Society of Enology & Viticulture (ASEV) national and Eastern Section (ES) conferences offer fantastic opportunities to catch up on the state of research. And having attended both, I was struck by how much students and early career entrants contributed to the conversation this year, particularly at ASEV-ES.
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Held July 9-11 in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, this year's ASEV-ES featured an agenda-and crowd-filled with faces both familiar and new. Student talks were interspersed with those by veteran researchers, where they were given equal weight. In the hallway between sessions, professors talked of the important work their students are leading. Even on the event's vineyard and winery tour, a new generation seemed to be thriving in leadership roles. At Galen Glen Winery, the first stop on the tour, owners Galen and Sarah Troxell referred to their daughter and vineyard manager Erin Troxell, a recent Cornell viticulture and enology grad, as "the boss." And one student presentation even struck me as potentially game-changing for the juice (and by extension, wine) industry. More on that, under Research Focus, below.
As our scientific community is rocked by the loss of greats like Dr. Doug Gubler (see below), it is heartening to see so many young minds at work across the country and throughout the industry. Their passion, intellectual curiosity, creativity and determination are already making an exciting impact. Seeing the intersection of seasoned wisdom and fresh innovation on display at ASEV events was the height of my summer conference season. Great things are happening!
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IN MEMORIAM: DR. DOUG GUBLER
University of California extension plant pathologist Dr. Doug Gubler, perhaps best known to the wine and grape industry for his major contributions in the management and control of powdery mildew, died unexpectedly on July 19 at age 72. A faculty member with the UC Davis Department of Plant Pathology since 1983, Doug retired in 2016, but remained an active industry speaker and continued his research and consulting activities.
To read the WineBusiness.com obituary, click here. Or to see the tribute by the UC Davis Department of Plant Pathology, click here.
A memorial service is planned for Friday, August 17, at 2 p.m. at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at 615 Elmwood Drive in Davis, CA. Our sympathies are with the Gubler family.
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AT CAL POLY, IT'S THE JUSTIN AND J. LOHR CENTER FOR WINE AND VITICULTURE
The name for the new Cal Poly Center for Wine and Viticulture was
revealed this month. The new JUSTIN and J. LOHR Center for Wine and Viticulture at
California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) will serve about 300 students and include a 15,600-square-foot bonded winery, authorized to produce up to 5,000 cases a year, as well as teaching and research labs. We can't wait to see the bright minds and innovations that emerge from the new center, named in part for NGRA member J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines!
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FARM BILL 2018 MOVES TO CONFERENCE COMMITTEE
Farm Bill 2018 will move into conference committee to resolve differences between the versions of the bill produced by the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House voted overwhelmingly this month to move into conference committee, and
47 committee members--29 Republicans and 18 Democrats--were named.
The Senate is expected to vote to go to conference, as well, with conferees announced soon after.
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INVESTMENT IN PUBLIC AG R&D IS DECLINING
A new report from the USDA's Economic Research Service
shows that governments in high-income countries (the United States, European countries, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Canada, Australia and New Zealand) are spending less on agricultural research. According to the report, these countries' combined public ag R&D spending grew from $3.9 billion in 1960 to a peak of $18.6 billion in 2009, before declining to $17.5 billion by 2013. America continues to outspend other countries, but our share of spending declined from 35% in 1960 to less than 25% by 2013. The study speaks to the complementary role of public-private ag research, saying that a one-dollar increase in public agricultural R&D spending may lead to a 70-cent increase in R&D spending by the private sector. However, public agricultural R&D institutions in these countries have taken the lead in pursuing fundamental research, which makes major technological innovations possible. Neither the private sector nor developing countries appear likely to completely substitute for this role.
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NEW NOMINATION FOR USDA UNDERSECRETARY
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue this month announced
President Trump's selection of Dr. Scott H. Hutchins
to be Undersecretary of Research, Education and Economics (REE) at the USDA. Following the announcement, Secretary Perdue issued the following statement: "I am very excited by the selection of Dr. Hutchins for this leadership role at USDA. His extensive background in research and commitment to sound science and data make him exceptionally qualified for this post, and I am eager to have Dr. Hutchins join the team." The USDA now has four nominees, including Dr. Hutchins, awaiting action in the Senate Agriculture Committee.
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CANADA COMMITS $8.4M TO GRAPE AND WINE SCIENCE CLUSTER
Canada's Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Lawrence MacAulay, announced early this month a commitment of $8.4 million to establish the Canadian Grape and Wine Science Cluster,
a collaborative project, to be called "
Fostering Sustainable Growth of the Canadian Grape and Wine Sector,"
which includes university researchers, grape growers and industry partners in Ontario, B.C., Quebec and Nova Scotia. The cluster will be overseen by the not-for-profit Canadian Grapevine Certification Network (CGCN). Brock University's Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI) will lead the research in Ontario and will be involved in additional research across the country.
See the breakdown of Cluster activities on the CGCN website.
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WASHINGTON STATE UPDATES RESEARCH PRIORITIES
Washington State Wine
refreshed its research priorities, ensuring its grant program stays focused on the state's most pressing research needs. Top enology priorities for the
new fiscal year include fermentation management (e.g., phenolic measurement and management, influence of yeast strains and control of microbiological spoilage) and assessing the aroma and flavor compounds in wine (e.g., the impact of filtration options on quality, smoke and other taints, and optimizing sensory compounds). The state's viticulture research priorities include production efficiency and profitability, pest control for sustainable and organic vineyards, climate impacts, and mechanization for both vineyards and wineries. The complete priority list is posted on
Washington State Wine's website.
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MAKING (CONCORD) JUICE INTO WINE
At the ASEV-Eastern Section meeting this month, Cornell Ph.D. candidate
Demi Perry
was the winner of the student oral presentation for
her
research
focused on
nanofiltration-resin (NF-R) processing, which is
an important project for both the grape juice and wine industries. In this excerpt from the
Staff Focus feature on Demi in the May edition of Appellation Cornell,
she talks about the work and its promise:
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I am currently working on a project that utilizes a two-step processing approach to selectively remove native odorants from Vitis labruscana juice without significantly affecting the chemistry of the juice and kinetics of subsequent fermentations. In other words, the juice I start with smells grapey and foxy but after processing, these overwhelming odorants have been removed, resulting in a juice that can be fermented into a relatively neutral wine. In recent years, as technology has advanced and membrane systems have become more available and affordable, similar membrane-resin processing principles have been applied to remediate problems facing the industry, like volatile acidity and Brettanomyces.
"
Growers of native grapes like Concord and Niagara have seen a drop in demand for their product and, as a result, been left with a surplus of grapes and less revenue. At the same time, with challenging growing conditions here in the Finger Lakes, winemakers have been searching for alternative grape suppliers and juice to get them through the tougher vintages that result in lower yields. This research, therefore, could provide winemakers with an inexpensive alternative to hybrids and other grapes they currently source, as well as provide grape growers with a market to which they can sell their grapes."
Demi works on Cornell's main campus in Ithaca as both a technician and PhD student in
Gavin Sacks'
program. She attended Cornell as an undergraduate in Chemistry ('13) and received her
master's
at Penn State, where she studied how people perceive methyl anthranilate and 2-aminoacetophenone
, two chemical compounds responsible for the characteristic native odors of
Vitis labruscana
grapes.
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AUSTRALIA INVESTS $9M TO TACKLE BOTRYTIS
Wine Australia and the National Wine and Grape Industry Centre (NWGIC) have signed a 5-year $9 million
co-investment research, development and extension agreement
to develop new technologies to determine the thresholds for botrytis and other bunch rot contamination. The NWGIC is an alliance between Charles Sturt University (CSU), the New South Wales (NSW) Department of Primary Industries (DPI) and the NSW Wine Industry Association. The funding-Wine Australia will contribute $2.5 million, Charles Sturt University will contribute $4.1 million (cash and in-kind) and NSW DPI $2.4 million-will cover projects to:
- determine the thresholds for botrytis and other bunch rot contamination of grapes, and conduct a feasibility assessment of the most appropriate practices to manage faults in wine when bunch rot thresholds are exceeded
- develop a decision support tool and a field-tested smartphone app for assessing fruit volume and predicting optimal harvest date
- develop a smartphone app for on-the-spot nutrient assessments and diagnosis of nutritional disorders in the vineyard
- explore the potential for controlling berry acidity in the vineyard through the addition of minerals such as calcium and magnesium in fertilizer to decrease additional intervention in managing acidity when making wine, and
- develop recommendations on how to tailor sulfur dioxide and ascorbic acid use based on wine compositional parameters.
This agreement is the fourth in a series of partnerships between Wine Australia and major research institutions under a new research and development funding framework.
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HARMONIZING NURSERY STOCK CERTIFICATION AND MORE IN WASHINGTON
This m
onth, the Washington (State) Wine Industry Foundation won a $99,440 grant from the USDA's
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
for its project, "
Harmonizing Grapevine Nursery Stock Certification Programs in the Pacific Northwest." This
third-year effort will accommodate the lengthy process required for state rule modification across Washington, Oregon and Idaho, and focus on officially implementing pilot study of harmonized quarantine pest list and draft certification standards. Including this most recent award, the Foundation has been awarded more than $2.7 million in federal and state grants. Projects have addressed education, risk management, winery safety, clean plants, cost-of-production calculators, integrated pest management and other topics. See the complete list of grants the Foundation has received.
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NOW PLAYING: IRRIGATION SCHEDULING VIDEOS
Viticulturist
Alexander Levin at Oregon State University's Southern Oregon Research and Extension Center put together two new videos on irrigation scheduling and measurement using a pressure chamber.
Part 1
explains the theory behind the measurement and
part 2
provides step-by-step technical instruction on how to properly make a measurement.
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July 25, 2018 │ The Drinks Business
Australian winemaker Chester Osborn (
d'Arenberg) says, "Burgundy won't be making Pinot Noir in 20 years as it will be too hot" and similar changes may be coming to other regions. "The solution," he says, "lies in different grape varieties."
July 21, 2018 | Western Farm Press
Israel, a country that, like California, grows grapes and is prone to drought, is teaming up with the
UC Agriculture & Natural Resources and
UC Davis to study water, irrigation, technology and related topics.
July 19, 2018
| MIT Technology Review
The nuclear signature of a wine can be used to verify its age. Even the Fukushima disaster of 2011 left an imprint on California wines produced at the time.
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November 12, 2018
NGRA End-of-Year Board Meeting
Paso Robles, CA
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