Posted in Industry News, NVG News on Nov 15, 2019
by Kerana Todorov
The wine industry and scientists can collaborate to preserve biodiversity in the fight against climate change.
One key is to develop trust between researchers and producers and find workable solutions.
These were among the observations Dr. Olga Barbosa, a scientist at the Universidad Austral de Chile in Valdivia, Chile, made in Napa during a discussion on the role of the wine industry in protecting biodiversity.
Barbosa spoke at Rootstock, an event organized by Napa Valley Grapegrowers at Napa Valley Expo.
Altogether about 600 people attended the symposium which included other panels focusing on other issues such as vine diseases.
The Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity and Universidad Austral de Chile want to show that biodiversity conservation and the wine industry are compatible. The goal was to manage biodiversity not only in protected areas but also in developed agricultural land such as a planted vineyard.
“We think that wine has a great opportunity to be a leader on climate change,” Barbosa said.
Posted in Industry News, NVG News on Nov 14, 2019
by Sarah Klearman
ach year, grape growers come from every corner of the North Bay to attend Rootstock, a conference hosted by the Napa Valley Grapegrowers focused on all things grapes. That includes presentations from industry researchers like Sarah Ferguson.
With the help of a research team, Ferguson, a research viticulturist and enologist at the Napa-based Silverado Farming Company, has spent the last two years researching the impact of mechanical leafing on the quality of wine. She’s also attempted to chart the impact of leafing – the removal of leaves from grapevines – at different points during the growing season.
“We know removing leaves is an important viticultural practice, and we wanted to see if the method used would have an impact on the wine,” Ferguson said in her presentation.
Click here to read the complete Napa Valley Register article.
Posted in Industry News, NVG News on Oct 31, 2019
by Eric Asimov
ST. HELENA, Calif. — Every wine region has had to deal with some manifestation of climate change, but few have had to deal with as many devastating consequences as Napa Valley.
On Labor Day 2017, as the weekslong harvest was getting underway, the temperature reached 110 degrees here in the heart of cabernet sauvignon country. But extreme summer heat has not been the only issue.
An abnormally warm January and February in 2015 set the growing season in motion early. But a cold snap in May caused many growers to lose 40 to 50 percent of their crop.
Click here to read the complete article in The New York Times.
Posted in Growing Season, Industry News, NVG News, Press Conferences on Oct 16, 2019
by Sarah Klearman
Napa’s growers are, on average, about 75 percent of the way through this year’s harvest, the Napa Valley Grapegrowers said at their annual harvest press conference.
During Tuesday’s conference, which was livestreamed via Facebook, the group said this year’s harvest had gone smoothly, citing the absence of bad weather.
Click here to read the complete article in the Napa Valley Register.
Posted in Napa Valley Farmworker Foundation on Sep 24, 2019
By Jill Barth
The North American wine business has been indelibly shaped by global influences, much of it linked to the contribution of Latinx and Hispanic hands and minds.
With ties to the earliest years of grape growing in the U.S., these communities have shaped the landscape of the bottles we enjoy. These are the people woven through a viticultural history that extends through statehood, the Mexican Revolution, Prohibition, the Great Depression and World War II.
These six industry experts talk about the best parts of their jobs and offer advice for young people seeking a future in the wine business.
Click here to read the complete article in Wine Enthusiast Magazine