Please join WSU Viticulture Extension and the National Grape Research Alliance (formerly NGWI) at our 2018 V&E Extension Leadership Conference. The event will be in Prosser, Washington, which is the heart of Washington Wine Country. Aside from great scenery and even better wine, this event is a wonderful opportunity to engage and build networks with other viticulture and enology extension professionals from across North America.

This event is made possibly by funding from:

• National Grape Research Alliance (formerly NGWI)
• Washington State University
• Ste Michelle Wine Estates
• Washington Winegrowers Association
• J. Lohr Vineyards and Wines
• G.S. Long Co. Inc.
• Wilbur-Ellis
• Oregon Vineyard Supply

Travel Scholarships sponsored by:

• California Table Grape Commission
• E.&J. Gallo Winery
• California Association of Winegrape Growers

Registration (Days 1-3)

• Registration: $100 (includes meals indicated in the below program)
• Registration Link: Registration Closed
• Registration Deadline:  May 4, 2018
  
• Conference Proceedings are now available for download (.pdf).

Program

Day 1 – Travel Day and Opening Reception– Sunday May 20, 2018

• 3:00 pm               Optional on-your-own walking tour and tasting at Vintner’s Village (wineries close at 5:00 pm): http://prosservintnersvillage.com/

• 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm   Welcome Reception at Hotel – Sponsored by GS Long Co
  • Wines of the United States – We are requesting that each participant bring 2 bottles of wine to the wine reception.
  • Taste of the PNW (seasonal, local snacks and appetizers)

Day 2 –Regional Reports and Professional Development – Monday May 21, 2018

• 8:00 am                Depart Hotel for Walter Clore Wine and Culinary Center
• 8:15 am                On-site registration
  • Name tag distribution
  • Coffee and pastries
• 8:45 am                Welcome
  • Michelle M. Moyer, Associate Professor / Viticulture Extension Specialist
    • Introduction to the meeting format.
• 9:00 am                REGIONAL REPORTS – Time per report dependent on number of reports received
  • Region reports: All those reporting must have 2-page written document (template to be provided) turned in prior to meeting. Written report will be available to all participants prior to meeting. Those reporting are then allowed 4 slides (optional) to present the day-of. Slides will be requested in advanced to be pre-loaded. 
• 10:15 am             Coffee Break – Sponsored by Oregon Vineyard Supply
• 10:30 am             REGIONAL REPORTS, continued
• 11:40 am              Update on Catalyst: Discovery into Practice (Michelle Moyer, WSU)
• 11:45 am              Update on Federal Sprayer Regulations (Gwen Hoheisel, WSU)
• 12:15 pm             Lunch @ The Clore Center (included in registration)
• 1:15 pm               Clean Plants and Quarantines/Harmonization Processes – (CPC-NW / FBAG)
  • Vicky Scharlau, WWIF
    •  Discussion of what is happening in the PNW / West Coast, and collaborative discussion for entire groups regarding clean plant promotion and education nationally. Discussion of available funding sources for clean plant education, and promotional material types that have worked (and could be mimicked in other locations).
• 2:45 pm               Coffee Break
• 3:15 pm                Survey Instruments for Gathering Impacts
  • Round-Table Discussion — Successes (and failures) in gathering impact data from Extension activities.  Please come prepared to share your stories or ask questions. Individuals may be contacted prior to the meeting in request to present specific details on their experiences.
• 4:15 pm                NGRA Extension and Outreach Committee Report / Updates
  •  Keith Striegler, NGRA Extension and Outreach Committee Chair
• 5:00 pm               Smoke taint in the Field and Winery
  •  Tom Collins, Assistant Professor, Washington State University. Learn about trials at WSU that are addressing how much smoke it takes to taint wine, and how to practically measure air quality during a smoke event in order to know if you are more likely to have a problem in the winery.
• 6:00 pm              Depart for Dinner at Vintners Village.
• 6:15 pm              Dinner at County Line Tasting Room     – Sponsored by J. Lohr Vineyards and Wines

Day 3 – Technical Tours and Community Building – Tuesday May 22, 2018

• 8:00 am                Depart hotel for Yakima Valley College – Transportation Provided.
  • Trent Ball and Lynn Chamberlain, Yakima Valley College. Tour YVC’s student winery and winery incubator space, which is helping launch new businesses in the Valley.
• 8:30 am                Tour
• 9:30 am                Depart for WSU-IAREC
• 10:00 am             Arrive at WSU-IAREC Roza Farm
  • Concord Tour and Irrigation Trials with Markus Keller, Professor, WSU. Discuss the history of Concord production in Washington state and view research trials relating to Concord production efficiency and maximization. Tour current wine grape irrigation research trials.
• 11:00 am             Depart for WSU-IAREC Main Campus
• 11:15 pm             Tour WSU-IAREC
  • Michelle Moyer, Associate Professor / Viticulture Extension Specialist, and Scott Harper, Assistant Professor / Director of CPCNW. Tour of Viticulture facilities at WSU-IAREC, including the Clean Plant Center Northwest.  Short presentation on the history of IAREC.
• 12:00 pm             Lunch under the Oak Trees /Rose-Peony Garden at WSU-IAREC
• 12:30 pm             NVEELC Business Meeting (Working Lunch; included in registration)
  • Keith Striegler, EJ Gallo / NGRA. Discussion of group name; Relationship with NGRA;
  • Selection of next year’s location and date
    • Anyone interested in hosting the 2019 conference should send a 1-page location highlight to the organizing committee prior to the meeting.
    • Those bidding to host will have a short time to pitch their location, followed by a group vote for venue.
  • Discussion of professional development topics
    • All participants should think of potential breakout discussions or professional development topics they would like addressed at future meetings.
• 1:45 pm               Depart for Inland Desert Nursery
• 2:15 pm               Tour Inland Desert Nursery 
  • Kevin Judkins, Owner. Visit nursery and discuss clean plant production logistics with the largest certified grapevine supplier in the Pacific Northwest.
• 3:30 pm               Depart for Washington State University’s Ste Michelle Wine Estates Wine Science Center
• 4:00 pm               Tour WSU-SMWE-WSC                                                                                     
  • Thomas Henick-Kling, WSU V&E Director, Kaury Balcom, WSU V&E Communication Coordinator.  Tour the new Wine Science Center at WSU, and taste through some vine-to-wine research projects done at WSU.
• 5:30 pm               Depart for Red Mountain
• 6:00 pm               Dinner at Col Solare Winery  – Sponsored by Washington Winegrowers Association and Ste Michelle Wine Estates
• 9:30 pm               Depart for Hotel

Optional Additional Day: Cold Hardiness Workshop

Registration for this optional day is separate from the main conference.

Registration: $30

Registration: CLOSED.

Registration closes: May 11, 2018.

Day 4 – Cold Hardiness Monitoring / Industry Service Working Group – Wednesday May 23, 2018

• 8:00 am                Leave hotel for WSU-IAREC
  • Transportation is not provided. Please carpool if possible.
• 8:20 am                On-site meet & Greet – Vit Building Conference Room
  
  • Name tag distribution
  • Coffee and pastries
• 8:45 am                Tour of WSU-IAREC Viticulture Cold Hardiness Facilities
• 9:30 am                Group Discussions
  • This is an open-format working group to discuss challenges and collaborative opportunities relating to vine cold hardiness monitoring and industry service / support. Suggested topics for discussion:
    • Bud and cane sampling techniques
    • Sample preparation
    • Optimal sample timing
    • DTA Machine modifications for reducing noise in data
• 12:00 pm             Lunch  (included in registration)
  
• 1:00 pm               Group Discussions
  • Coordinated multi-state sampling methods to evaluate Cold Hardiness model
  • Display and extension of cold hardiness data
  • Development of multi-state extension programming (with intent of publishing training results in JOE / Catalyst)
• 5:30 pm               Return to hotel
• 6:30 pm               Group Dinner (optional – not included in registration).

Transportation

Prosser, WA is located in eastern Washington. The nearest airport is the Pasco Airport (PSC), which is a 35 minute drive from Prosser. Other regional airports, all approximately 3 hours away, are Portland (PDX), Seattle-Tacoma (SEA), and Spokane (GEG).  As a reminder, if you fly Alaska Airlines out of Pasco, you are allowed to check a case of wine for free.

Participants will need to arrange their own transposition to and from the airport to Prosser.  If flying in and out of Pasco, please be sure to rent a car early, as while the airport is small and efficient, it is heavily used due to the large number of commercial operations in the TriCities area.

Hotel

A block of hotel rooms has been held at the Best Western Plus Inn at Horse Heaven.  The extended rate to conference participants is $93 + tax.   The name on the group block is:  “Viticulture and Enology Extension”. Please use this group name to receive the group discount rate.  This discounted rate is only available until April 18, 2018. Rates and room availability cannot be guaranteed after that date.

To book your room online, please follow the link below. Otherwise, the Front Desk phone number is :1-800-688-2192

State Report Guidelines

As in the past, we have allotted time for state-specific reports. First preference for these reports will be given to those attendees who have extension or outreach responsibilities within their county / region / state.  Reports will be both in written (submitted before the conference), and oral (presented at the conference) format. Please see the information below for specific details:

• Written reports should be completed in the template provided below. They are due by May 4, 2018. Please email to Michelle Moyer (michelle.moyer@wsu.edu).
  
  • Report Template (.docx)
  • Reports should emphasize unique characteristics to the region, that would influence how extension programming would be developed and delivered.
• Oral presentations will be limited to 4 slides total (if desired), and approximately 5-10 minutes, depending on the number of submitted reports. Only those who submit a written report will be allowed to present an oral report.
  • In the case of multiple submissions for the same region, individual written reports will be permitted, but the oral presentation will need to be consolidated to 1. Individuals impacted by this will be contacted by May 7th, with instructions on coordinating the oral presentations.

Travel Scholarships (Closed)

NGRA anticipates making available up to five travel scholarships for V&E specialists who lack funding for airfare and hotel accommodations.

• Application Form (.pdf)
• Applications due: Applications are now closed.