By Abby Hammermeister, 2022 NGRA Fellow Water scarcity already threatens sustainable agriculture in arid regions of the western U.S., and changing climatic conditions will make matters worse. Reduced water availability forces growers to employ conservation techniques like deficit irrigation. This practice induces water stress in plants that decreases growth and yield, but is often used […]
Projects Underway
Breakthrough! Sulfur-Containing Compounds Are Accurate Markers for Smoke Taint
For years, a class of compounds known as volatile phenols have been used as the sole markers for smoke taint in wine and grapes. But their efficacy wasn’t consistent. Often, wines with high levels of volatile phenols didn’t taste ashy or smoky, while wines with low levels did. With West Coast winemakers in urgent need […]
Conference Nirvana
June may bring the start of summer and the longest day of the year, but its highlight this year was the American Society for Enology and Viticulture (ASEV) National Conference and Climate Change Symposium. The two-part event was set in San Diego—a picture-postcard for the season. But despite what you might be thinking (boondoggle!), it […]
Care About Research? Represent the Northwest Region on Our Board
NGRA Seeks a Northwest Regional Board Representative Does research matter to you? Does science drive your business and decisions? Is innovation the key to advancing the grape and wine industry? Step up to represent the Northwest Region on the Board of Directors of the National Grape Research Alliance as a grower or producer in Alaska, […]
Paying It Forward
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 […]
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 […]