Evil ladybug? Close, but no. A spotted lanternfly nymph.* |
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Think back to 2017. Donald Trump was inaugurated as President of the United States. People traveled to viewing sites in the “path of totality” to witness the first total solar eclipse to cross the continent since 1918. Wildfires raged around the world, including in the western U.S. and Canada. Hurricanes ravaged Texas, Florida and the Caribbean. The #MeToo movement began. And I was hired as President of what was then the National Grape and Wine Initiative. (We changed our name one year later.)
That same year, our Board of Directors ratified our four research themes—genetics and grapevine improvement, natural resources and environment, integrated production systems, and extension and outreach. Each theme includes a set of robust research priorities, including these six top-line items:
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Advance our understanding of gene function and linkage to important traits
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Identify, establish and maintain high-performing, disease-free plant material
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Develop integrated models for the utilization of key natural resources at the vineyard block level, including water, nutrients and sunlight
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Build improved mechanization and automation systems to enhance labor efficiency
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Improve pest and disease detection, modeling and control systems
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Strengthen and support extension and outreach for viticulture and enology in America
These themes and priorities were intended to be evergreen, broad enough to capture critical research needs yet specific enough to inspire innovation.
Looking back to 2017, other than bud break inching earlier each year, it felt like things were status quo in the grape research world. But already, spotted lanternfly had landed in Pennsylvania vineyards and has since expanded its grapevine-loving presence to 14 states. UC Davis’ Foundation Plant Services, the source of all California registered or certified grapevines, reported the first incursion of grapevine red blotch virus in its Russell Ranch Vineyard. The virus would eventually overcome the vineyard, and go on to threaten vineyards in Oregon and Washington. California has seen nine of the top 10 largest wildfires since 2017, including blazes at vineyards and blankets of smoke along the West Coast that affected fruit development and quality, and for raisins, drying. Historic drought has wracked the West, exacerbated by several of the hottest years on record. And polar vortexes have hammered the Midwest and Northeast.
The last six years also brought a leap forward in modern genetics thanks to CRISPR-Cas9, as evidenced by the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2020. A revolution in AI and machine learning has brought these tools to bear on precision farming and is changing how we think about computing. Mechanization and automation now touch almost every aspect of vineyard management. Autonomous systems have introduced robots (many for research purposes) and driverless tractors and sprayers to vineyards across the country. Meanwhile, the global COVID-19 pandemic drove many businesses online, dramatically altering the way we work, disrupting supply chains, sparking inflation and continuing to impact our economy.
In light of what feels like unprecedented change, have our industry research themes and priorities proven as broad and resilient as we’d hoped?
Earlier this month, in a nod to spring cleaning, NGRA’s four Research Theme Committees began to test our research priorities against the challenges and opportunities of the last six years. The conversations have been inspired and inspiring. We’ll be distilling the results of this “priorities refresh” into an updated set of priorities for our Board to review at our Midyear Meeting in June. Stay tuned to see if/how the priorities might change!
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Donnell Brown
NGRA President
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On March 31, 2023, at the age of 91, Monterey, CA, wine pioneer Al Scheid passed away. He was the founder and chairman of the board of Scheid Family Wines, evolving the business from a grape grower to a wine company producing nearly a million cases of wine annually, and ranked among the top 25 largest wine producers in California.
Al was a founding member of the California Association of Winegrape Growers (an NGRA member-organization) in 1974, serving as chairman and longtime board member. He was named CAWG Leader of the Year in 2017. Al helped to advocate with state lawmakers for the development and implementation of the annual Grape Crush Report in 1976, which brought transparency on pricing and volume across California’s disparate regions. It’s one of the ways he is credited as leveling the playing field between grape growers and wineries.
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USDA Appoints New NIFA Director |
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This month, the USDA announced the appointment of Manjit K. Misra as director of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). The NIFA Director leads the agency’s work in advancing agricultural research, education and extension to solve societal challenges. (NIFA administers some of the grape and wine industry’s most important research grant programs, like the Specialty Crop Research Initiative [SCRI] and the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative [AFRI].) Dr. Misra will start his new role on May 8, 2023.
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USDA-APHIS Releases New Strategic Plan and Foresight Report |
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The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) this month published a new five-year strategic plan, spanning from now till 2027. Of the plan’s six strategic goals, some that are directly relevant to the grape and wine industry include:
- Protecting agriculture from plant and animal diseases and pests
- Delivering solutions that reduce the impacts of emerging diseases and ecosystem changes, such as climate change
- Expanding safe trade
APHIS also released a fascinating “strategic foresight report,” which outlines 10 societal, environmental, and technological trends and several future scenarios that the agency must be prepared to navigate. These include the scalation of climate change threats, advances in science and technology, changes in production practices and globalization.
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Workshop Tackles SLF Research Needs |
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Nationally recognized researchers and regulatory officials from across the U.S. and Canada gathered at Cornell AgriTech’s Geneva, NY, campus, April 11-13, 2023, for a Spotted Lanternfly Research and Management Workshop. Building on the momentum of the annual virtual SLF Summit, the event was designed by and for the community of scientists who’ve been working on SLF mitigation and management strategies to encourage collaboration, expand research efforts and broaden advocacy efforts. New York State Integrated Pest Management’s (NYSIPM) Brian Eshenaur, a senior extension associate and SLF expert, and NYSIPM Extension Aide Jacob Leeser organized the first-of-its-kind event. NGRA’s Donnell Brown attended and spoke about research communications and funding. Penn State’s Julie Urban, who leads the SCRI-funded StopSLF project, opened the event by saying, “I feel like we’re only just beginning to ask the right questions.” |
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California Green Medal Awards Announced |
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Late last month, the winners of the 2023 California Green Medal Sustainable Winegrowing Leadership Awards were announced. Awardees are recognized for their advanced sustainability practices and innovation based on a comprehensive judging process focused on both sustainable viticulture and winemaking. Four green medals are awarded annually in the following categories: Leader, Environment, Community and Business. The 2023 medal winners are:
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Treasury Americas - Leader Award, for excelling in the three “Es” of sustainability–environmentally sound, socially equitable and economically viable practices
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Tablas Creek Vineyard - Environment Award, for environmental stewardship through maximized environmental benefits from implementing sustainable practices
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Cakebread Cellars - Community Award, for being a good neighbor and employer using the most innovative practices that enhance relations with employees, neighbors and/or communities
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Niner Wine Estates - Business Award, for demonstrating smart business through efficiencies, cost savings and innovation from implementing sustainable practices
The California Green Medal Sustainable Winegrowing Leadership Awards are presented by several California wine organizations devoted to sustainability, including these NGRA member-organizations: the California Association of Winegrape Growers, Wine Institute and Lodi Winegrape Commission.
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Congrats to WSU’s Michelle Moyer |
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Each year, the College of Agricultural, Human and Natural Resource Sciences at Washington State University (WSU) awards faculty and staff for extraordinary performance and achievement. This year, Michelle Moyer, WSU statewide viticulture extension specialist, was recognized with the award for Faculty Excellence in Extension. Michelle also was promoted this year to the rank of full professor in WSU’s new Department of Viticulture and Enology. |
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UC ANR Adds Extension Expertise |
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This year, the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) has added many new Cooperative Extension advisors, specialists and academic coordinators in California counties across the state. Among the new hires, these scientists bring relevant expertise to the grape and wine industry:
- Manpreet Singh - Tech and innovations advisor for small farms, Fresno, Kings, Tulare, Madera and Merced counties
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Justin Tanner - Viticulture advisor, San Joaquin, Stanislaus and southern Sacramento counties
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Tobias Oker - Soils and irrigation advisor, Kern County
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Ellie Andrews - Specialty crops advisor, Sonoma, Marin and Napa counties
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Eddie Tanner - Specialty crops and horticulture advisor, Humboldt and Del Norte counties
- Ahmed Kayad - Agricultural engineering advisor, Intermountain Research and Extension Center (Modoc and Siskiyou counties)
- Gwenaël Engelskirchen - Sustainable food and farming coordinator, UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program
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Texas Tech Seeks Viticulture Professor |
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The Department of Plant and Soil Science in the Davis College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources at Texas Tech University is recruiting an Assistant/Associate Professor of Viticulture. Duties include conducting research and teaching in support of the state’s commercial wine grape industry. This is an academic year (nine-month), tenure-track position with research, teaching and service/outreach responsibilities. The position is based in Lubbock, the heart of the Texas High Plains AVA where 80% of the state’s wine grapes are grown. Learn more and apply.
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Cornell Seeks Viticulture Extension Educator |
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Cornell Cooperative Extension seeks a Viticulture Extension Educator who appreciates the production and marketing challenges facing New York grape growers. The incumbent will work with producers across several counties in Eastern New York and contribute to multiple teams while developing impactful extension educational and applied research programs. This is a three-year appointment (with possible extension), based at the Hudson Valley Research Laboratory in Highland, NY. Learn more and apply. But act fast—the application deadline is April 30, 2023! |
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HOW ACADEMIC V&E PROGRAMS ELEVATE LOCAL WINE REGIONS
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When fourth-generation Texas winemaker Maureen Qualia set out to study enology in the early 2000s, she had to go all the way to California to do so. “At the time, there was no wine education in the state of Texas, at least not in higher education,” she says. She left her family’s Val Verde Winery, located in the border town of Del Rio, and moved west to pursue a master’s degree at California State University-Fresno (Fresno State).
During her time in California, Maureen gained valuable experience working as a phenolic researcher at Napa Valley’s Silver Oak Cellars, an assistant winemaker at Trione Vineyards and Winery in the Anderson Valley, and as head winemaker at J&J Cellars in Paso Robles. Meanwhile, the wine industry back home was rapidly growing. When Maureen left Texas in 2005, the state had around 50 wineries. By 2013, when she returned, that number had grown to 270. Maureen took up a role in Texas Tech University’s Viticulture and Enology department, which during her absence had grown from a two-year viticulture certification program in 2007 to a four-year undergraduate degree in viticulture and enology. “If it wasn’t for our local programs, I don’t think we would have seen this exponential rise in quality that we’re seeing,” she says.
Today, the Lone Star State touts more than 500 wineries, 340 growers and more than 5,000 acres devoted to grape-growing. As with many emerging wine regions, its local viticulture and enology program played no small part in its growth, fueling innovation and boosting the quality and status of local wines—and inspiring native Texans like Maureen to return to put their winemaking skills to use on their home turf.
How Research Programs Help Wine Regions Grow Strategically
Most established wine regions are closely associated with a nearby grape growing or winemaking program. Napa Valley’s esteemed wine industry wouldn’t have reached such great heights without the University of California at Davis (UC Davis), a top agricultural school whose researchers and faculty helped shape the region into the global powerhouse it is today. In New York, Cornell University has undoubtedly helped catapult wineries in the Finger Lakes and Long Island by assisting them in navigating new research, farming techniques and technologies through their respective cooperative extension programs. And in Washington State, wineries depend on the up-and-coming winemakers coming out of the viticulture and enology program at Walla Walla Community College.
Now, as rising temperatures, changing weather patterns and labor shortages impact wine production across the globe, wineries and researchers in other up-and-coming regions are recognizing how important it is to nourish their mutual relationship—and how, by working together, they can effectively boost a local wine economy.
In recent years, several colleges have prioritized their viticulture, enology and wine business programs. Last August, Washington State University welcomed its first class of students in its newly created viticulture and enology department. Around the same time, the California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) opened the Justin and J. Lohr Center for Wine and Viticulture, a $22 million, state-of-the-art project that aims to further cement Cal Poly’s link to Central Coast AVAs. Western Colorado Community College’s Viticulture and Enology Program at Colorado Mesa University got a recent boost when Napa Valley legend Warren Winiarski’s charitable foundation provided a $150,000 grant to help further advancements in the young Colorado wine industry. The funds generated an endowed scholarship and research focused within the Grand Valley AVA, where 80% of the state’s grapes are grown.
There’s also a steady stream of investment flowing into top grape breeding programs, such as the one at the University of Minnesota, where researchers are focused on developing high-quality, cold-hardy varieties—work that impacts emerging wine regions in the Midwest and beyond.
A Tag-Team Approach to Industry Growth
When a university’s agricultural research priorities align with those of neighboring wineries, the chances of success increase. That’s certainly been the case in Virginia, home to a young but exciting wine industry that has grown from 46 wineries in 1995 to more than 300 today, earning respect among sommeliers and wine buyers along the way.
Many credit Virginia Tech’s viticulture extension program for putting Virginia on the wine map, especially the recently-retired viticulturist Tony Wolf, who served there for 36 years. Without the university’s involvement, Virginia’s wine industry “would not be as advanced as it is right now,” says Tremain Hatch, a viticulture research and extension associate at Virginia Tech and part of the father-son team behind Zephaniah Farm Vineyard in Leesburg, VA. “Until about 2000, a lot of research needed to be done in Virginia, just simply to help determine how to keep wine grapes alive in our environment. Determining the best production practices, the best varieties, was a tall order.”
Now, grape growers and Virginia Tech researchers work in tandem to tackle issues or challenges as they arise, keeping the growth of the state’s wine industry on track. “[Virginia Tech’s program] helped do important research but also provided a platform where growers could share what they were seeing,” says Tremain. “It helped us move forward really rapidly.”
This article was excerpted from the original, titled “How Viticulture Programs Drive Success for Emerging Wine Regions,” published on SevenFiftyDaily.com on April 6, 2023. Click for the full story.
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USDA-NIFA Offers Grant-Writing Workshop |
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Are you new to teaching, research and/or education? Have you applied for a federal grant before and have not been successful? USDA-NIFA is hosting a five-day technical assistance webinar May 8-12, 2023, to help you learn more about the competitive funding opportunities the agency offers, strengthen your grant writing skills and understand the award process and management. Learn more and register.
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Open to researchers from Western institutions, these grants support projects that bring together teams of researchers, students, agriculture professionals and producers to advance sustainable agriculture at local and regional levels. Projects must integrate research and education targeting the three components of sustainable agriculture—environmental, economic and social—and use innovative outreach to disseminate new knowledge. Project budget is a maximum of $350,000, with a project length of 1-3 years. Deadline is May 23, 2023.
TERA awards recognize and promote excellence in teaching, extension and research in the food and agricultural sciences at colleges or universities. There are two national recipients, two early career recipients, two teaching and student engagement recipients, and six regional awards. Nominees are evaluated based on their ability as instructors, educational innovation, service to students, professionalism and scholarship. The TERA awards are offered by USDA-NIFA in partnership with the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. They are four-year awards of up to $500,000 each. Deadline to apply is May 24, 2023.
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Applying for a grant? Request a letter of support!
NGRA is pleased to provide letters of support for research projects that directly address our industry-set research priorities. Request a letter by completing our online request form at least two weeks prior to the grant deadline (or any internal deadline you may have). Requests are reviewed and approved by NGRA Research Committee leadership, so processing times may vary. |
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April 20, 2023 | Good Fruit Grower
Jobs on farms increasingly require technology skills, but workers with skills in ag tech can be hard to find. Several programs, including one from Western Growers, many at Washington State colleges and universities, and one at the federal level called AgAID, are introducing training and degree programs to bring a next-generation workforce online. A participant in one such program says, “Sometimes we see agriculture work as poverty-level work.” But the ag tech class has shown her the exciting science and opportunities in the field (pun intended).
April 16, 2023 | Oregon State University
In 2022, Oregon State University’s Elizabeth Tomasino and Jenna Fryer, a doctoral student in her lab, devised a new standard for tasting the smoky/ashy component of smoke taint in wine. In the process, they discovered sulfur-containing compounds called thiophenols not normally found in wine. The breakthrough “provides a new chemical marker for smoke taint that could provide a reliable way to identify smoke taint and ways to potentially eliminate it during the winemaking process,” Elizabeth says.
April 12, 2023 | Morning Ag Clips
Virginia Tech and Texas Tech University researchers are teaming up to deploy four-legged citizen scientists to detect spotted lanternfly. As part of the project, unofficially called the Canine Citizen Science Study, they’re asking dog owners to unite and learn how to marshal their pets’ olfactory prowess to sniff out spotted lanternfly eggs. All dogs can do it, they say—even the “smooshy-nosed” breeds. The end-goal is to create an enduring citizen-based detection program for SLF and other invasive species.
April 11, 2023 | American Vineyard Magazine
UC Cooperative Extension Area Viticulture Advisor Tian Tian has been evaluating the suitability and efficiency of mechanized pruning equipment for table grape production since 2022. She says the task is complicated for table grape growers, thanks to the crop’s highly structured trellising systems and the fact that they want more control over shoot and cluster positioning, dictated by pruning. She says she hasn’t found technology that can fully mechanize pruning, but there are tools that can automate some of the steps.
April 11, 2023 | Frontiers in Environmental Science
In a two-year trial in a Central Coast vineyard in California, progressively increasing the rate of compost application did not increase soil carbon (C) stock, cumulative greenhouse gas emissions or global warming potential. But it did increase active soil C, suggesting it can facilitate C stabilization and sequestration.
April 7, 2023 | Viruses
It is known that the three-cornered alfalfa hopper transmits grapevine red blotch virus in a greenhouse setting, but Cornell-led research now proves it can vector GRBV in vineyards. In controlled four- to six-week exposures of TCAH that had acquired the virus to GRBV-negative vines in vineyard settings, transmission was successful, particularly where the pests were restricted to feeding on single leaves vs. shoots. This finding was consistent with greenhouse assays showing that transmission is facilitated through the feeding of fewer TCAHs on a restricted area of grapevine tissue.
April 5, 2023 | Wine Business Monthly
At the Oregon Wine Symposium in February, Oregon State University entomologist Vaughn Walton gave a talk on the state's new threat: vine mealybug, a vector of grapevine leafroll disease. “We think we have a climate that is not suitable for vine mealybug,” he said. But studies show they thrive below ground, where soil conditions remain stable, regardless of the climate above ground. Despite Oregon’s sustainability ethos, it seems chemical control may be the best method to prevent the pest’s spread.
April 4, 2023 | Horticulture Research
Previous versions of the grapevine reference genome had thousands of fragments and lacked critical pieces of information. Members of the Cantu Lab at UC Davis in collaboration with international collaborators have assembled a gap-free reference genome for Pinot noir that identifies 9,026 more genes than were previously known and includes 377 gene clusters that control complex traits like aroma and disease resistance. This fully annotated complete reference genome is an important breakthrough for grape genetics and breeding.
April 3, 2023 | Seven Fifty Daily
American wine trade, media and academic professionals see a disconnect between the Eurocentric, antiquated language we use to talk about wine. Says one wine educator, “The current structures and systems of wine vocabulary, how we teach a new generation of people to come into the legitimized profession of it, are very old—almost from the Pax Britannica era of the British Empire.”
April 2023 | The Crush
In this article in the California Association of Winegrape Growers’ April newsletter, UC scientists Mark Battany and Anita Oberholster weigh in on the importance of measuring soil and water chemistry—not only for ground and surface water, but also for winery wastewater—and the impacts of poor water quality on plant and vineyard soil health. “Recycled water will be one of our next frontiers for water use,” Mark says. Indeed, desalination of seawater is being studied in Spain and other Mediterranean countries.
Spring 2023 | Washington State University Viticulture and Enology Extension News
A new project funded by the Washington State Wine Commission called “Using Drones and an Attractant to Improve Biological Control of Mealybugs and Spider Mites in Washington Wine Grapes” is showing promising results. It deploys UAVs to drop in natural enemies and methyl salicylate gas to attract others in a new model of augmentative biological control. In year one, WSU’s David James reports, they saw 5-10 times fewer mites on grapevines and reduced mealybug populations by 15-30%.
March 30, 2023 | Alabama Cooperative Extension System
In field trials of five perfect-flowered muscadine varieties at Alabama A&M’s Chilton Research and Extension Center, all showed promise for uses from home gardens to commercial vineyards. And the range of berry weight (1.1 g to 16 g), vine yield (5.6 lbs to 61 lbs) and soluble solids (16% to 17.3%) are astounding!
March 27, 2023 | Wine-Searcher
Argentina’s ant battle reveals the need for sustainable solutions, particularly as regions grow hotter and drier. Some 28 species of ants can be found in the Mendoza region, thriving in the already arid conditions. Because they eat leaves and shoots, they can dramatically reduce yield. But as one producer says, “We have not found an organic/sustainable way of managing this issue that is efficient enough. We have tried destroying their nests, sulfur, diatomaceous earth, but so far none of these have worked 100%.”
March 22, 2023 | Wine Business Monthly
Among the highlights of UC Davis’ Research Advancements in Viticulture and Enology conference in March, new grape breeder Dr. Luis Diaz-Garcia reported on modernizing the grape breeding program he now leads. With particular concern for climate change, he aims to use phenomics, robotic phenotyping (FarmBot) and more advanced technologies to accelerate the process of developing new varieties for rootstocks and scions. He plans to broaden focus from just single-gene traits like Pierce’s Disease resistance to include “quantitative traits” that represent the stacked functioning of multiple genes together.
March 14, 2023 | Wine Enthusiast
Despite the fact that Vitis vinifera grapevines are self-pollinating, vineyards still benefit from the presence of bees. Bees help to pollinate cover crops, which in turn enrich the soil; they attract other beneficial insects like parasitic wasps; and they can help dislodge the protective cap that covers grape flowers until bloom, aiding the development of grape berries and bunches.
March 2023 | OSU Extension Service
Synthetic chemicals account for the majority of pesticides applied, largely because the active ingredient can absorb into plant tissues and redistribute to other parts of the plant, improving efficacy and reliability. But how does pesticide redistribution work? And what should you know to make best use of these materials? This in-depth extension publication from Oregon State University has the answers.
February 16, 2023 | Vineyard Team Podcast
In this Vineyard Team podcast, Oregon State University’s Patty Skinkis talks about the complex study of whole plant physiology, or how grapevines respond to their environment, including management practices. Her eye-opening 10-year crop load management trials with Oregon Pinot noir growers, demonstrated that bigger-picture perspective. It revealed that fruit and wine quality relied on more than just crop thinning. In fact, the widely held practice had little impact on the finished product.
April 2021 | University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture Research & Extension
This excellent publication from extension agents at the University of Arkansas breaks down the facts about pesticides in anticipation of the annual Environmental Working Group's 2023 Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce™, a.k.a. the Dirty Dozen. UC Davis food scientists, they report, “concluded that pesticide residues on all 12 commodities posed negligible risks to consumers and that organic produce options for these commodities did not represent a lower risk. The researchers also noted that EWG’s ranking methods lacked scientific credibility.” (Grapes are no. 8 on the 2023 list.)
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Find these stories and more, published every weekday, on our Facebook and Twitter feeds. Use #graperesearch to join and grow the conversation!
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May 4, 2023
WSU “Pests to Watch out for” Webinar Series
Virtual event
May 8-10, 2023
Washington, DC
May 9-10, 2023
Washington, DC
May 18, 2023
WSU “Pests to Watch out for” Webinar Series
Virtual event
May 31, 2023
UC Davis Retirement Seminar:
Davis, CA
June 7, 2023
Virtual event
June 7-9, 2023
Austin, TX
June 26, 2023
NGRA Mid-Year Board Meeting
Napa, CA
June 26-29, 2023
Napa, CA
July 6, 2023
WSU “Pests to Watch out for” Webinar Series
Virtual event
July 17-21, 2023
Ithaca, NY
August 10, 2023
WSU “Pests to Watch out for” Webinar Series
Virtual event
August 24-25, 2023
Traverse City, MI
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The monthly NGRA Update is provided as a service to the U.S. grape and wine industry.
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