If you could grow the perfect grapevine, what would it be or do? What would its fruit be or look like? How would it perform throughout the season, given your climate, soil and labor availability? Essentially, these were the dreams grape and wine industry representatives were asked to entertain when surveyed about the most desirable […]
Portrait of the Perfect Grapevine: Industry Survey of Desirable Traits
Call for Nominations: Rich Smith Distinguished Service Award
HONOR A COLLEAGUE AND A LEGEND The late Richard (Rich) Smith of Paraiso Vineyards and Smith Family Wines in the Santa Lucia Highlands of California was first and foremost a family man, and also a successful grape grower, winery owner and respected colleague. Before his passing in 2015, through his significant and selfless contributions of time, energy […]
Excellence in Extension: NVEELC 2018
The 2018 National Viticulture & Enology Extension Leadership Conference (NVEELC) took place May 20-22, hosted by Washington State University (WSU) Viticulture Extension in Prosser–the heart of Washington State wine country. The 50 extension and outreach specialists who attended represented both viticulture and enology, their experience ranged from 30+ years in their post to less than […]
Top 10 Reasons to Attend NVEELC 2018
Research has no impact if it isn’t put into practice. So, NGRA is proud to support the efforts of our colleagues in extension and outreach, including their grassroots-organized National Viticulture & Enology Extension Leadership Conference (NVEELC). This year’s event is less than one month away (May 20-22), and registration closes even sooner (May 4). If you work in […]
An Open Letter: Help Support Grape Genetics Research
To download this letter as a pdf, click here. April 2018 To: U.S. Grape and Wine Industry Stakeholders From: National Grape Research Alliance Dear Colleagues: The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) is charged with advancing grape genetics research in the U.S. Through its laboratory facilities in Geneva, NY, and grape variety collections in Geneva […]
NGWI Is Now National Grape Research Alliance
NGWI Changes Its Name to National Grape Research Alliance New Name Emphasizes Mission of the Organization SACRAMENTO, CA, March 30, 2018 – The National Grape & Wine Initiative (NGWI) has officially changed its name, becoming the National Grape Research Alliance (NGRA), effective immediately. The National Grape & Wine Initiative began in 2003 as the Winegrower’s Critical […]
NGWI Elects New Board Chair, Tony Stephen; Re-Elects Officers and Board Representatives
SACRAMENTO, CA, January 30, 2018 – The National Grape & Wine Initiative (NGWI) held its Annual Meeting of Members on January 26, 2018, electing a new Chairman of the Board, Tony Stephen, and re-electing seated officers and members at large. New Board Chair Tony Stephen has served on the NGWI Board, representing the American Vineyard […]
2017 Rich Smith Distinguished Service Award Presented to Wine Industry Legend Pete Downs
SACRAMENTO, CA, January 24, 2018 — The second-annual Rich Smith Distinguished Service Award for major contributions to the American grape and wine industry, and to research, was given to Edgar B. “Pete” Downs, President of the Family Winemakers of California. The award was given in a surprise presentation by the Smith Family at the Board […]
President’s Year-End Wrap-Up: Top Five for 2017
If it’s New Year’s, it’s time for lists celebrating the highlights of the year. For NGWI, 2017 was big, so listing our top accomplishments is a bit daunting. Of course, coming aboard as president in April was the highlight of the year for me. (Many thanks to Wine Business Monthly for including me as one of the “Top […]
NGWI-Supported Trunk Diseases Project Concludes
At the end of November, Dr. Kendra Baumgartner et al. submitted the final report of their NGWI-supported SCRI project, “New detection, research, and extension tools for managing wood-canker diseases of fruit and nut crops,” focusing on grape, almond and pistachio. As they explain in the report, wood-canker diseases are a serious problem in vineyards in the U.S. and […]