SEATTLE (March 15, 2019) Washington State Wine is asking wine grape growers and wineries to fill out a survey to help identify top research priorities for the statewide wine and grape research program.
Feedback from the survey will be used by the Wine Research Advisory Committee, a subcommittee of Washington State Wine, to help prioritize which viticulture and enology research projects to fund. The survey will help ensure that research topics on the priority list are relevant and address important industry challenges. Several new topics were added to the priority list after a similar survey was sent to the industry last year.
The Washington Grape and Wine Research Program, administered by Washington State University, combines funding support from the Washington State Wine Commission, Auction of Washington Wines, WSU’s Agriculture Research Center, and state taxes collected on all wines sold in the state. This year, the program will fund projects totaling about $1 million.
Previous research outcomes have provided significant economic value to grape growers and wineries, including irrigation water savings of up to 50 percent in red wine varieties, reduced pesticide usage, improved tannin management, improved wine quality, and more. WSU and industry officials have estimated that an innovative spray technology developed by WSU to control cutworms saves the industry $35 million annually in reduced pesticide costs and improves worker safety and yields.
Washington State Wine encourages all industry members who utilize viticulture and enology research to participate in the short survey or visit: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WSWResearch19
About Washington State Wine:
Washington State Wine represents every licensed winery and wine grape grower in Washington State. Guided by an appointed board, WSW provides a marketing platform to raise positive awareness about the Washington State wine industry and generate greater demand for its wines. Funded almost entirely by the industry through assessments based on grape and wine sales, WSW is a state government agency, established by the legislature in 1987. To learn more, visit www.washingtonwine.org.
