The UC Davis Viticulture and Enology Extension Team has been quite active since January. We hosted a booth in the exhibit hall at the Unified Symposium in Sacramento (January 25 and 26, 2023) and a reception at the Hyatt for alumni, students, faculty, and friends on the Wednesday evening of the Unified Symposium in Sacramento (January 25, 2023). It was so great to visit with everyone that stopped by the booth or attended the reception!
Our UCD V&E On the Road programs continued with the first program of 2023 in Tulare County at the Tulare County Cooperative Extension Building, just adjacent to the World Ag Expo, on February 15th. Thank you to George Zhuang, Joy Hollingsworth, Matt Fidelibus, and Steve Vasquez for their help with making the event happen! Thank you also to Megan Bartlett, Luis Diaz Garcia, Andrew McElrone, Mason Earles, and David Block for speaking at this program. We then hosted an On Campus program at the UCD Conference Center, focused on Wine Spoilage on February 22. Topics included introductions to both microbial and chemical wine faults and attendees were then able to taste (a few) and smell various microbial and chemical taints. Thank you to members of Anita Oberholster’s lab for providing the “spoiled” standards.
We then brought researchers On the Road to Mendocino County. The program was originally supposed to take place at the Hopland Research and Extension Center on February 28, but a tree fell onto their water supply source during the heavy wind and rain the weekend before the program. So, with the help of Chris Chen, Viticulture Advisor for Sonoma, Lake, and Mendocino Counties, we found a venue that would host our program (at the last minute) and, thanks to Caroline Bamforth Firman, we found a bakery that would provide breakfast pastries and coffee (also at the last minute). Our original caterer also had a tree problem (it was blocking the road to their kitchen), but we were at least able to find a breakfast substitute at the last minute as well. Thankfully, we completed the program without any transportation problems. We are grateful to the presenters (Mark Battany, Luis Diaz Garcia, Cindy Kron, Monica Cooper, and Chris Chen) and attendees (40+) that persevered. On March 9, we were once again on the road in San Joaquin County at the Grape Festival Grounds. With help from Stephanie Bolton, from the Lodi Winegrape Commission, we worked with F and M Bank to work out lunch details for our program, as the bank was hosting a lunch in the next building on the same day and many of our attendees wanted to go to both programs. She also helped us to choose topics relevant to the Lodi area. Topics included: Supporting vineyard soil health through regenerative management, Early season crop estimation from the ground and sky, and Extreme heat impacts on berry chemistry and wine composition. On March 15, we were back on campus, hosting RAVE (Recent Advances in Viticulture and Enology), which is a more in-depth research seminar, occurring every other year, that showcases the most up-to-date research and includes student posters and flash talks.
We hosted (on Zoom) our 21st “Office Hours with Dave and Anita” program on May 24th, featuring our newest faculty member, Luis Diaz Garcia. Luis talked about why we need new grape varieties and David Block, Anita Oberholster, and a few attendees asked questions. The final Spring on-campus seminar will honor the career of Professor Andrew Waterhouse, on May 31, 2023, at the UCD Conference Center. Over the summer, we are planning a “Harvest Readiness” webinar for mid-July and Matthew Fidelibus (Cooperative Extension Specialist, Viticulture) is hosting a Grape Day at the Kearney Ag Center in Parlier on August 8. Be sure to put these events on your calendar and check our events page often, for additional programs, updated information, and registration links. We are thankful for the AVF “On the Road” extension grants we have received and for the additional support we receive through our Extension and Industry Relations Partnership Program.