Sustainable Winegrowing with Vineyard Team

Bruce Reisch Professor of Grapevine Breeding and Genetics at Cornell University, specialized in the development of new wine and table grape varieties, as well as new grape breeding techniques. New winegrape varieties need a market niche whether that be versatility, sustainability, disease resistance, climate resilience, or productivity. These traits are achieved with hybrids. Of the more than 60 grape species available, most of the...

While wineries can maintain business operations during COVID-19, day to day operations look much different than they did the first few months of 2020. Hear how three wineries are adapting to their new way of doing business.  

Nathan Carlson, General Manager and Winemaker of Center of Effort Wines shares how they are discovering opportunities and better way to do business from saving on travel with telecommuting distributor presenta...

Paul Mabray, CEO of Emetry is helping wine brands make more effective sales and marketing decisions with data. He finds that wineries focus too heavily on finding new customers when they should put effort into retaining the ones they already have.

The days of COVID-19 have shed a spotlight on the brittle tasting room model. Wineries ask customers to travel to them, sometimes at great distances, outlaying significant costs. It is in...

As far back as 4000 years ago, man and falcon cooperated to the benefit of both. Today, they are used in the vineyard, other agricultural crops, resorts and landfills for sustainable bird abatement.

Beginning at version, grapes become a very attractive food for pest birds, particularly Sparrows and Starlings. Initially the vineyard is explored by small flocks of scouting birds. If those birds like the fruit, and if there is no obvi...

Sustainability and certification are viewed as a “quality enhancement”. In the currently overly supplied market, sustainability is an advantage. A premium can be getting $200 to $300 more per ton of grapes in a good market or it can mean selling grapes when no one else can in a weak market.

Gregg Hibbits, General Manager at Mesa Vineyard Management explains how their dedication to sustainability for over 30 years has drawn like-min...

Brandi Moody explains that to develop a strong marketing strategy you need to know your consumer segments, learn about them, see what they like, and market to them where they are. Brandi is an experienced marketer with a keen sense of burgeoning trends, consumer insights, and brand storytelling.

With the onset of COVID-19, social distancing and shelter in place, we are in the midst of a “cultural reset” that is changing how consume...

The average winery sells 30 percent of their wines out of the tasting room plus another 20 percent to restaurants. That means 40 to 60 of annual sales are impacted by COVID-19 with closed tasting rooms and take out only restaurants IF shelter in place were to continue all year. But, Rob McMillan, VP and Founder of the Silicon Valley Bank Wine doubts that will be the case.

We were already experiencing a market correction before COVI...

Dr. Michelle Moyer, Assistant Professor and Statewide Viticulture Extension Specialist at Washington State University uses the age old fairytale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears to explain powdery mildew. Like Goldilocks, powdery mildew likes the weather conditions to be just right. Dr. Moyer explains these ideal conditions and two key ways to avoid disease in your vineyard by making things “not right”.

Wayne Wilxox, Professor Emeritus of Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology at Cornell University, spent his career on the applied biology and integrated management of grapevine fungal diseases. Wayne looks at berry susceptibility changes throughout the season to determine when control programs need to be maximized. Ultimately, his applied research sought to discover what makes a “disease tick” and use that knowledge to learn how...

Grape vine trunk diseases are prevalent in mature vineyards, shortening the vineyard’s life and productivity. Akif Eskalen, Cooperative Extension Specialist and Plant Pathologist at the Department of Plant Pathology at the University of California Davis, is researching naturally occurring microorganisms to use as biocontrol against these fungal pathogens. Antagonistic microorganisms already live in the plant tissue without causing ...

One decade ago, amidst a limited labor supply and growing New Zealand wine industry, Klima co-founders Marcus Wichkam and Nigel George set out to solve their own labor issues with mechanization. By developing a highly efficient vineyard pruning system they have removed the physically demanding portion of the job opening the opportunity to employ fewer, more highly skilled tradesworkers to perform cane selection. This mechanization ...

Lauren Noland-Hajik, Attorney and Lobbyist at Kahn, Soares & Conway gives an update on new policies that affect the wine industry. She explains the legislature and how bills are formed through committee hearings; covers the Water Resiliency Plan and how it affects Sustainable Groundwater Management Act; regulating power shutoffs to prevent wildfires; anticipated regulations on pesticides including glyphosate, rodenticides, and ...

John A. Roncoroni is the UC Cooperative Extension Weed Science Farm Advisor and UCIPM affiliate advisor in Napa County. In this podcast, John discusses his specialty; weed management in California’s Coastal and Foothill premium winegrape growing regions. He discussed why weeds should play a more important role in pest control programs, knowing which weeds you have on your property, fire mitigation, and the toughest weeds to control...

In this special holiday edition we bring you a fascinating interview with Dr. Stephen Lloyd-Moffett, professor of Religious Studies at California Polytechnic State University.

Stephen looks at the way in which passion for wine acts as a surrogate for religion. In this interview he discusses how wine is a vehicle for communication, creating a transcendent wine experience through your environment, why rituals communicate value, and u...

California has seen another challenging and sometimes devastating year of fires. Smoke from these events can cause unwanted flavors in wine. In this interview, Eric Herve, Research Scientist at ETS Laboratories and Matt Brain, Leader of the Sustainability Team at Crimson Wine Group and Associate Winemaker at Chamisal Vineyards, discuss how winemakers can screen grapes for the risk of smoke impact and work to mitigate its effects. E...

Dr. Tarah Sullivan is Assistant Professor of Soil Microbiology at Washington State University. In this interview, Tarah discusses how the plant microbiome mirrors the human gut, the ways in which soil microorganisms can alter the bioavailability of micronutrients and metals for plants, why plants in alkaline soils can be deficient in iron when the soil is not, if cover crops can improve soil microbial communities, and what is next ...

Gerhard (Gerry) Pietersen is a plant virologist with an interest in solving problems in South African agriculture related to plant viruses.

In this interview Gerry discusses the severe plant health and economic impacts seen in South Africa from Grapevine leafroll disease, the importance of regional buy in to establish a control program including a very successful collaboration of 50 adjoining farms in New Zealand, and new technique...

Dr. Luca Brillante is the Bronco Viticulture Chair and Assistant Professor of Viticulture in the Department of Viticulture and Enology at California Fresno State University.  Prior to this appointment he was a Post-Doc Researcher for the University of California Davis Department of Viticulture and Enology, working on precision viticulture and implementation of variable rate and site specific management approaches. 

Luca discusses h...

Dr. Michelle Moyer, Washington State University Extension, and Associate Professor in the Department of Horticulture and Affiliate Faculty Member in the Department of Plant Pathology returns to the Sustainable Winegrowing Podcast after her top rated presentation on the Goldilocks Principle & Powdery Mildew Management. In this interview she discusses recent research on integrated pest management for grapevine powdery mildew, how...