2021 RICH SMITH DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD PRESENTED TO OHIO’S DONNIELLA WINCHELL SACRAMENTO, CA, January 19, 2021 — The fifth-annual Rich Smith Distinguished Service Award for outstanding contributions to the American grape and wine industry was today conferred upon Donniella “Donnie” Winchell, Executive Director of the Ohio Wine Producers Association (OWPA). The award was given in a […]
Projects Underway
Red Blotch Research in 2020
In 2020, a number of projects were initiated by teams of enterprising scientists seeking to help stop the scourge of grapevine red blotch virus, a significant and costly disease affecting Western vineyards that, so far, has eluded definitive answers regarding spread and management. Anita Oberholster, extension enologist at UC Davis is leading a project called, […]
A Blessing in Disguise?
One of the benefits of having a newsletter that goes out on the last day of every month is, it’s one of the last things to drop into your inbox for the whole, entire year. What can I say that hasn’t already been said? Or what can I repeat that should be reinforced? Or what […]
Zoom! Went the Strings of My Heart
The NGRA Board of Directors meets three times each year and last week, on November 19, we convened for the last time in 2020. As with all pandemic-era meetings of far-flung people, our Board members gathered virtually, via Zoom, across all continental U.S. time zones for a very productive meeting–signaling an exciting year ahead for […]
Farming Gone Haywire
It’s the end of October. Daylight is waning, the temperature is descending and Daylight Saving Time ends on Sunday. (Not to mention the presidential election two days later.) Change is upon us. But these normal cycles of life seem not so normal anymore. If you read grape and wine industry media regularly, you’ll notice a […]
A Dark Harvest
Harvest is usually a bustling, positive time of year, when the fruits of growers’ labors are ripe and ready for the next phase of their journey, whether that’s drying for raisin production, packing and storing for fresh consumption, or pressing for juice or wine. But from coast to coast, this year’s harvest has had a […]
Grant Helps Growers Better Manage Nutrients
By Brandon Schrand WSU College of Agricultural, Human and Natural Resource Sciences Since the 1960s, American grape growers have followed a set of nutrient management guidelines that often entail more guesswork than precise strategies. An industry-driven project called “High-Resolution Vineyard Nutrient Management” seeks to change that. Led by Washington State University’s Dr. Markus Keller, it was one […]
Sweet Seventeen
On this day, August 28 (and the next) in 2003, the National Grape Research Alliance was born. The organization didn’t have a name yet. It wasn’t even an organization yet. It was just a two-day meeting of 20 wine industry representatives and academics from UC Davis, concerned about what was then considered a crisis of […]
The Truth Is Out There
This month, the NGRA Research Theme Committees began their brainstorming and prioritization process, each with the goal of coming up with one or two ideas that can be progressed into actual research projects. As we dig into the exercise, generating input on industry-needed research, one theme has become bracingly clear. As a community, collectively, we know very […]
Rich Smith Distinguished Service Award Nominations Open
2021 Nominations Accepted through October 30, 2020 Richard (Rich) Smith, founder of Valley Farm Management, Paraiso Vineyards and Smith Family Wines in California’s Monterey wine region was first and foremost a family man, and also a successful grape grower and winery owner, and respected colleague. Through his significant and selfless contributions of time, energy and funds […]