Cashmere, Wash. – The Washington Association of Wine Grape Growers 2014 Annual Conference is the premier educational opportunity for the Northwest grape and wine industry featuring sessions and workshops for growers, viticultural staff, wineries, enologists, tasting room staff and marketers.
The three day event is Feb. 5-7, 2014 and is the second largest of its kind in the nation; there are sixteen educational sessions, with the trade show, featuring 180 booths, held in the adjacent Toyota Center, in Kennewick. All sessions are held at Kennewick’s Three Rivers Convention Center.
This year’s General Session, scheduled Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2014 incorporates overarching issues impacting the wine and grape industry from the vineyard to the winery.
The session will include:
The Wine Science Center: Progress You Can See
David Forsyth, Winemaker, Zirkle Wine Company, Prosser, WA
The Year in Review: A Look at the Highlights of the 2013 Vintage
Wade Wolfe, Ph.D., Owner/Winemaker, Thurston Wolfe Winery, Prosser, WA
How Environmental Factors Affect Wine Grape Quality
Gene Lester, M.S., Ph.D., National Program Leader, Quality & Utilization of Agricultural Products, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, MD
How AgWeatherNet Can Help Manage Your Environmental Factors
An interactive look at utilization of a powerful tool
Lacey Lybeck, Viticulturist, Milbrandt Vineyards, Mattawa, WA
Industry Expansion and the Limiting Effects of Water
Derek Sandison, Director, Office of Columbia River, Department of Ecology, Wenatchee
On Thursday, February 6, there will be a session on Viticulture for Vineyard Managers, which examines management decisions needed to incorporate a scientific perspective into vineyard expansion highlighting two panels incorporating industry leaders with the featured presenter Stefano Poni, Fruit and Viticulture Institute Director, Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Piacenza, Italy, on pruning and canopy management.
And on Friday, February 7, there will be a session on Managing for Successful Fermentation which will provide insight into understanding microbial ecology and how to successfully manage native and inoculated fermentation. This session targets trained enologists, lab staff, and wine making staff.
The Washington Association of Wine Grape Growers serves wine grape growers and wineries through education, advocacy and leadership to encourage a positive business environment for continued growth and production of world-class, Washington-grown wines.