May 2021 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 […]
Projects Underway
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
April 2021 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 […]
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…
March 2021 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 […]
Youth Isn’t Wasted On Some Young
February 2021 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. […]
Looking for Love in 2021
January 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 […]
NGRA’S 2021 Officer and Board Elections
At the Annual Meeting of the Members, held virtually on January 25, 2021, NGRA held its annual election of officers and Board directors. We are pleased to renew the terms of all four NGRA officers and five Board directors, and to install two new directors on our Board, as follows: Officers – Elected annually for […]
2021 Rich Smith Award Presented to Donnie Winchell
SACRAMENTO, CA, January 20, 2021 — The fifth-annual Rich Smith Distinguished Service Award for outstanding contributions to the American grape and wine industry was conferred yesterday upon Donniella “Donnie” Winchell, Executive Director of the Ohio Wine Producers Association (OWPA). The award was given in a surprise presentation by the Smith Family, the National Grape Research […]
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, […]