On June 15, 2021, California reopened. Covid restrictions were lifted and, just like that, life started to return to normal. Six days later, we held our joint Precision Viticulture Symposium with the American Society for Enology and Viticulture…virtually. (More on the symposium here.) When we first announced the event, it was planned to be live, […]
Projects Underway
Precision Viticulture: Inputs or Outputs?
At the ASEV-NGRA Precision Viticulture Symposium, held virtually on June 21, 2021, two keynote presentations bookended the day. Rob Bramley, a Senior Principal Research Scientist at CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) in Australia, opened the event with remarks on “Precision Viticulture and Beyond – Digital Approaches to Winegrowing.” (He noted that “Winegrowing, to […]
New-Scientist Engagement Series Installment No. 2: HEAT!
NGRA continues our New-Scientist Engagement Series with a lunchtime (Pacific Time) talk on Monday, July 26, 2021, with the timely theme of “HEAT!” These events are designed to introduce NGRA Board and Research Committee members (and any industry stakeholders who are interested in attending) to newer scientists (and/or newer work) supporting grape-related research programs and […]
NGRA, The Movie
I’ve always felt that starting a new job is like watching a foreign movie in subtitles. At first, you’re desperately focused on the words on the screen, uncomfortably aware that the action is flying by as you struggle to keep up. Then suddenly, somewhere along the way, it starts to gel. You’re not clinging to […]
Schedule of Our 2021 Meetings and Events
Did you know that all NGRA meetings, including Board meetings, are open to the public? If you’re interested in attending, let us know. Annual Meeting of the Members and First-of-Year Board Meeting 2021 Monday, January 25, 2021 | Zoom Preceding the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium, January 26-29, 2021 (virtual event) NGRA New-Scientist Engagement Series […]
Time (And a Brood of Cicadas) Flies
A news story this month stopped me in my tracks. As reported by The New York Times, tens of billions of cicadas, called Brood X, is set to emerge any day now across the Eastern U.S. Aside from the biblical connotations of swarms of locusts, the thought is mind-boggling: these creatures went underground in 2004, […]
New-Scientist Engagement Series No. 1: Sensors, Pests and Diseases
On May 3, NGRA is pleased to launch our new New-Scientist Engagement Series! (See details below.) These events are designed to introduce NGRA Board and Research Committee members (and any industry stakeholders who are interested in attending) to newer scientists (and/or newer work) supporting grape-related research programs and projects. The events will provide an opportunity […]
One Year On…
As I sat down to write this March 2021 column, out of interest, I looked back at what I wrote in March 2020, when the global pandemic was declared. With the plucky title, “Better Luck Next Time,” I concluded my remarks with, “All I can hope is, when I write this column a month from […]
Youth Isn’t Wasted On Some Young
When I was little, I wanted to be a veterinarian. I was crazy about animals (and still am) and the idea of helping them appealed to me. That lasted until I was told I’d be in school until at least the age of 25–ancient!–if I wanted to be a doctor of veterinary medicine. That ended […]
Looking for Love in 2021
Many of us entered the new year with admittedly unrealistic expectations that 2021 would be better than 2020. Immediately! A month in, we’re still waiting for the new year to deliver us from the old year we’re ready to forget. Obviously, it’ll take time for things to unwind. In the meantime, we’ll keep our heads […]