Wait, what?! A comic strip in the NGRA newsletter? Yes, it’s a first. And hopefully not the last! NGRA has supported the VitisGen project since it first started exploring grape breeding for powdery mildew resistance in 2011. Now in its unprecedented third round of funding from the USDA’s Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI), the team […]
Projects Underway
The Shadow of the Farmer
There is a Japanese proverb that goes something like, “the shadow of the farmer is the best fertilizer.” Of all the things I’ve heard and learned about grapegrowing over the last nearly 20 years, that phrase is probably the most powerful. It signifies the value of showing up, being present, paying attention and focusing on the […]
Meet Us at Unified!
Come meet NGRA staff and stakeholders at our exhibitor booth (no. 409) at the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium again this year! The show will take place January 28-30, 2025, in Sacramento, CA. Exhibits will be open on Day 2 and 3, and our booth will be on the show floor near the main entrance. […]
‘A Destroyer of Worlds’
Thematically appropriate for the spooky season, four NGRA members and I spent the beginning of October up close and personal with one of the grape and wine industry’s biggest bogeymen: the spotted lanternfly. The five us spent two packed days, October 2-3, 2024, on an SLF Field Trip in Berks County, PA, creeped out and […]
Wild Things
In the last couple of months, a number of articles cropped up related to climate change and what it means for us as farmers and eaters. It’s as if, as more extreme and erratic weather swirls around us, the conversation is intensifying about how we might have to change, too. In July, climate observer David […]
Nominate a Leader for the 2025 Rich Smith Award
Richard (Rich) Smith, founder of Valley Farm Management, Paraiso Vineyards and Smith Family Wines in California’s Santa Lucia Highlands wine region. He was an ardent family man and a successful grape grower, winery owner and respected colleague. He was a highly effective, collegial and tireless leader whose significant and selfless contributions of time, energy and […]
Community Matters
I did a radio interview with the Pacific Northwest Ag Network recently, where I talked about NGRA’s community-building ethic. I told host Glenn Vaagen that a vital part of our research mission is to “build a sense of community around people who believe in science as a means of advancing the industry.” Among the joys […]
EPA Considers Delisting Mancozeb for Use in Grape
By Dr. Katie Gold, Cornell Grape Pathology The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed to cancel the use of mancozeb, a multi-site fungicide commonly used to control Phomopsis, downy mildew and black rot, in grape due to potential post-application worker exposure hazards. The public comment period on this proposed interim registration review decision (PID) […]
Influencers and Artists
This has been the Summer of Grape Research, with the annual academic conferences of the American Society for Enology and Viticulture (ASEV) and ASEV-Eastern Section happening just a few weeks apart in late June and early July, respectively. These gatherings are terrific yearly opportunities to meet new colleagues and connect with old friends, learn what […]
Goodbye, Bob Gallo
Bob Gallo passed away on June 22, 2024, at the age of 89. A scion of the Gallo family business, the largest winery on the planet, he was an avid proponent of advancing the grape and wine industry through science. I’m proud to say that NGRA is a small part of his legacy. Bob was […]