Earlier this month, I attended the retirement seminar for the legendary Dr. Andy Walker, Professor Emeritus in the Viticulture and Enology Department at UC Davis. Although technically known as an accomplished grape and rootstock breeder, hearing his former students speak about him made me think that perhaps those nematode-resistant rootstocks and Pierce’s Disease-resistant grape varieties […]
Projects Underway
Happy Accidents
Who doesn’t love a happy ending…especially when, at the beginning of the story, things are going all wrong? One of my favorite such stories involves cheese. Years ago, when I lived on Long Island, NY, I was tasting with cheesemaker Art Ludlow at his family’s artisanal Mecox Bay Dairy in Bridgehampton. As I gushed over […]
Time for Research
Time is a hot topic in March, when dark-weary Americans spring our clocks forward. The longer days yield more time for productivity, feeding our inclination to DO, to amass results in shorter spans. Four-day work-weeks, anyone? Some things, though, can’t be rushed. Research takes time. But some research calls for more than most. For example: […]
Twenty-Twenty, Too
At the outset of 2021, I heard a quip I found as humorous as it was hopeful: that the new year would be pronounced “twenty-twenty won.” To me, it signaled that, as rotten as the previous year—the start of the pandemic—had been, we’d move forward collectively, maybe even return to relative normalcy. And yet… As […]
Rich Smith Award Presented to Tom Davenport
SACRAMENTO, CA, January 26, 2022 – The sixth-annual Rich Smith Award of Excellence for outstanding contributions to the American grape and wine industry was presented today to Thomas (Tom) Davenport, a retired executive from National Grape Cooperative who has been a leader in fostering and coordinating research on state and national levels. The prestigious award […]
Maybe It’s You…
As it does every December 21, this month brought the shortest, darkest day of the year. With the Omicron variant circulating, there’s a lot of uncertainty and anxiety out there. Around this Winter Solstice, it’s been easy to focus on the darkness. At NGRA’s End-of-Year Board Meeting, held via Zoom on November 18, 2021, we […]
A Slice of Heaven
NGRA holds three Board meetings each year, and we plan all three a year in advance. Normally, the mid-year (June/July) and end-of-year (November) meetings take place in different grape-growing regions around the country, while our first-of-year (January) meeting is always held in Sacramento, CA, where NGRA is based, the week of the Unified Wine and […]
NGRA President Appointed to USDA Research Advisory Board
Also Tapped as Advisor to Specialty Crop Committee SACRAMENTO, CA, November 5, 2021 — The National Grape Research Alliance (NGRA) is proud to announce that its President, Donnell Brown, is one of 14 appointees to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics (NAREEE) Advisory Board. As part of her […]
Don’t Be a Stranger
Yesterday, the USDA issued a press release, announcing the appointment of 14 people from across the agricultural landscape to the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics (NAREEE) Advisory Board. All 14 were selected and appointed by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. Six members were re-appointed, and eight are new. I am one of […]
Nutrient Management Survey Reveals Industry Practices
By Dr. Patty Skinkis, Oregon State University The NGRA-initiated High-Resolution Vineyard Nutrient Management project, led by Washington State University’s Markus Keller, received second-year SCRI funding this fall. Organized to develop both sensor-based tools to measure in-field grapevine nutrient status and regional nutrition guidelines, the research will help growers to manage vineyard nutrition using precision viticulture. […]