Wine-Grower-News #182 October 14, 2011 (Next Newsletter in 2 Weeks)
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Wine-Grower-News #182 October 14, 2011 (Next newsletter in 2 weeks) Midwest Grape & Wine Industry Institute: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/Wine Information in this issue includes: Computer Crashes – Operator limps away! eViticulture Surveying Grape Growers USDA-NASS Releases Kansas Grape & Wine Reports from 2010 Wisconsin Grape Growers Association Featured on Wisconsin Public Radio Researchers receive $2.5 Million for project to bring cold hardy grapes to market 13th Amateur Wine Classic Competition – Greater Kansas City Cellarmasters 11-16, Justin Morris Vineyard Mechanization Workshop - AR NCR-SARE Farmer/Rancher Grant Proposals Due: 12-2-11 IA Wineries & Breweries: $100 Discount for Iowa Tourism Conference 10-(21+22) Small Scale Commercial Winemaking Course – Nebraska City 12-(3 & 4) Winery Sanitation Workshop – Wamego, KS Registration Now Open – Midwest Grape & Wine Conference - St. Charles, MO Comments from Readers (Emerald View Vineyards & John 15 Vineyard) Notable Quotables Marketing Tidbits Articles of Interest Show n Tell Videos of Interest Neeto-Keeno WWW Stuff Calendar of Events Computer Crashes – Operator limps away! I have been getting quite a few e-mails lately asking what happened to “Wine Grower News”. Well….. unfortunately I ran into a little problem in September when I downloaded a MicroSoft Security update onto my computer. My computer crashed. After three hours of “computer triage” I finally gave up and handed the computer over to our computer specialists on campus to help me get it fixed 1 The good news was that my “Carbonite” automatic backup system was able to recover about 90% of the data lost. The bad news is that the 10% it did not save were very valuable files. I learned the hard way about “bloated files” and how they can negatively affect file backup and recovery programs. I also learned the hard way that a computer needs to be backed up on two separate drives to be “OFFICIALLY” considered backed up. After three weeks of eating copious quantities of “Tums” and using every computer technique available to recover data, I am back. A little bruised and battered, but I am back. PS: In this digital world, one quickly realizes how much work they can get done without a computer. Little or nothing! mlw eViticulture Surveying Grape Growers eViticulture is the national online viticulture resource containing the latest science-based information for viticulturists. This resource, created by the eExtension Grape Community of Practice (GCoP), is directed toward commercial viticulturists who need solid, tested, science-based information to improve their skills in the vineyard. The Grape CoP is comprised of a nationwide group of professionals with expertise in grape production. All of the states involved have a grape industry, from very large (California) to very small (South Dakota), and all have an increasing interest in grape production. Expertise within the GCoP includes integrated pest management, plant pathology, food science, distance education, variety selection, canopy management, and rootstocks, just to name a few. Often individuals possess more than one expertise area, and expertise areas may overlap, allowing for overall strength in numerous knowledge areas. In fact, many members of the GCoP have collaborated in the past on research and extension efforts. The GCoP intends to be inclusive rather than exclusive with other disciplines. Several stakeholders indicated their desire to see the formation of a GCoP, including the National Grape and Wine Initiative. All content is collaboratively authored and reviewed by our community of professionals with expertise in viticulture and related disciplines. To improve the eViticulture web site, GCoP is asking growers to complete a Grower Needs Analysis Survey USDA-NASS Releases Kansas Grape & Wine Reports from 2010 Kansas grape growers reported 223.3 bearing acres of grapes in Kansas in 2010, up 6 percent from 210 bearing acres in 2007. Acres with non-bearing vines increased as well. There were 118.8 non- bearing acres reported in Kansas during 2010, an increase of 33 percent from 2007. The top 10 cultivars harvested in 2010 included: Chambourcin 52.5 tons 14.8 % Seyval Blanc 34.8 9.8 Norton (Cynthiana) 29.0 8.2 Traminette 22.6 6.4 Vignoles 21.1 5.9 St. Vincent 18.9 5.3 Marquette 18.1 5.1 2 Cabernet Franc 15.6 4.4 Chardonel 13.9 3.9 Noiret 12.7 3.6 All Other 115.5 32.6 Total 354.7 tons 100.0 % Kansas wineries produced 107,419 gallons of wine in 2010. Table wines accounted for 64.5 percent of total production, followed by specialty wines with 32.2 percent. Fortified wines accounted for 2.7 percent, while dessert or sparkling wines accounted for 0.6 percent. Forty-two percent of Kansas wineries responding to the winery survey indicated they had been established within the past five years. These and many more interesting facts about the 2010 Kansas wine industry can be found in the USDA-NASS grape and wine production reports that can be found Online here: http://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Kansas/Publications/Economics_and_Misc/Winery/ind ex.asp Wisconsin Grape Growers Association Featured on Wisconsin Public Radio WATERLOO, Wisconsin (September 29, 2011) —Wisconsin Grape Growers Association President, Ryan Prellwitz, spoke to Wisconsin Public Radio’s Joy Cardin on Wednesday, September 28, 2011 at 6:00 AM. Joy Cardin hosts a show every weekday from 6:00 AM to 9:00 AM on the Ideas Network. She talks with a wide variety of guests about current issues. Guests field questions from Joy and her callers on a wide array of timely state, national and international topics. Questions from callers ranged from which varieties to plant, the mystery of missing grapes to home winemaking tricks. Joy Cardin Wednesday, September 28, 2011 Program Summary: 2011 is shaping up to be a great year for Wisconsin's grape harvest, which is good news for our state's wineries. After six, Joy Cardin's guest says the weather is only partly responsible and expects more bountiful harvests in the future; he'll also address your winemaking questions and comments. Guest: Ryan Prellwitz, President, Wisconsin Grape Growers Association; Owner, Vines & Rushes Vineyard, Ripon. To listen or to download an audio archive of the program, please visit www.wpr.org and click on Audio Archives of Joy Cardin. The show aired on 9/28/2011 at 6:00 AM or go Wisconsin Grape Growers Association website to listen (http://wigrapes.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Joy-Cardin- Wednesday-6am.mp3 ) The Wisconsin Grape Growers Association is focused on educating member hobbyists, vineyards and associated companies on the best practices of growing quality grapes in the cold climate of Wisconsin. According to the WGGA mission statement, “The Wisconsin Grape Growers Association is a non-profit agricultural organization dedicated to uniting and educating growers, assisting with research and promoting and protecting the art, science and commerce of viticulture in Wisconsin.” To find out more, please visit http:// www.wigrapes.org Further Info - Contact: Becky Rochester, Grape Marketing Coordinator Wisconsin Grape Growers Association Ph: 503.428.6331 or [email protected] 3 Researchers receive $2.5 Million for project to bring cold hardy grapes to market New grape varieties can take more than 20 years to breed and evaluate, and much longer to reach commercial success. A $2.5 million grant will help a team of researchers from Nebraska to New York tackle obstacles in vineyard, winery, tasting room, and tourism to bring cold hardy grapes to a wider market. The focus of the grant is a group of extremely cold-hardy wine grape varieties, new to both growers and consumers, which have spawned new small-winery industries in the upper Midwest and Northeast over the past decade. The challenges ahead include determining the best growing conditions, how to modify their higher acidity and showcase their aroma, and how to build tourism networks to draw visitors to tasting rooms, where a majority of sales take place. “These varieties are unique. Practices that producers use to grow and make Riesling and Merlot won't work for these varieties, due to differences in their genetic background and fruit chemistry,” said Tim Martinson, project director and senior extension associate at Cornell. “Producers of newer varietals—like Marquette, Frontenac and Brianna — face additional challenges in establishing markets to promote and sell these wines. Their goal is to provide producers with research-based tools and practices to help them grow, vinify, and sell quality wines to local and regional markets. “We've put together an interdisciplinary team of vineyard scientists, enologists, and marketing experts to address these challenges across 12 states,” said Martinson. “Working as a team, we hope to be able to offer integrated, relevant information that would not be possible with individual state-based teams working independently.” The consortium includes researchers from Cornell University, Iowa State University, Michigan State University, Oklahoma State University, North Dakota State University, South Dakota State University, the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station and the Universities of Illinois, Massachusetts (Amherst), Minnesota, Nebraska, Vermont, and Wisconsin. Ultimately, they hope the project will help convert startup wineries into sustainably profitable enterprises that can fuel rural economic development. The grant was funded by the by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI), which supports multi-institution, interdisciplinary research on crops including fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, and ornamentals. Additional info: USDA- NIFA Newsroom article: http://www.nifa.usda.gov/newsroom/news/2011news/10141_scri.html 13th Amateur Wine Classic Competition – Greater Kansas City Cellarmasters When: Friday & Saturday, November 4 & 5, 2011 Where: Shawnee, KS Entries must be received: Oct. 1- 22, 2011 4 Cost: $8 per wine entry and $1 per wine label entry. Awards dinner: Saturday, November 5 at 6pm and will be held at the Salem Lutheran Church, 9143 Haskins, Lenexa, KS 66215.