Grape Day at the Oakville Station, June 4, 2025

On Wednesday, June 4, the Department of Viticulture & Enology at UC Davis in collaboration with Christopher Chen, UC Cooperative Extension Integrated Vineyard Systems Advisor, North Coast, hosted a Grape Day at the UC Davis Oakville Experimental Vineyard. One hundred and twenty attendees heard from UC Davis faculty members about: Translating genetic discoveries into innovations in viticulture, Building resilient vineyards from the roots up, Diagnosing the real causes of vine decline, Grape yield estimation: challenges and opportunities, PD vector ID and countywide blue-green sharpshooter trapping, The fundamentals of and evaluating the economic viability of regenerative viticulture, and more.  Speakers included: Dario Cantu, Luis Diaz Garcia, Akif Eskalen, Nico Bambach, Mason Earles, Cindy Kron, Justin Tanner, Axel Herrera (Lazcano Lab), and Chris Chen. UCCE Viticulture Farm Advisors were available to answer questions. Thank you to all the presenters and to all who attended! We’d also like to thank our Extension Partners, Aggie Gold: J.Lohr Vineyards and Wines, Gallo, Constellation Brands, and the American Vineyard Foundation and Aggie Blue: O’Neill Vintners and Distillers, Vineyard 511, and Enartis, without whom we would not be able to bring you these types of programs. In addition, we’d like to thank our Grape Day Sponsors:  Bahco, Verdi, Lumo, Joseph Phelps Vineyards, Napa County Farm Bureau, and Hot Spot Ag.

From March through September 2025, Department Chair, Ben Montpetit and Director of Industry Relations, Karen Block, visited with stakeholders in Lodi, Bakersfield, Paso Robles, Sonoma, Napa, and Madera. In addition, we attended the Rootstock Improvement Program, in Five Points, organized and run by CE Specialist, Matthew Fidelibus, and Farm Advisors, George Zhuang and Karl Lund.

Upcoming Extension programs

We have spent the last couple of months organizing our Department of Viticulture and Enology educational extension programs and other departmental programs for the upcoming year. We are planning both On Campus and On the Road programs. On December 10, 2025, we will be On the Road in the Foothills at the Casino Mine Ranch Winery! Registration will be opening soon, so check our upcoming events page for the latest information.

At the January 2026 Unified Symposium in Sacramento, the Departments of Viticulture and Enology at UC Davis, Fresno State, and Washington State, and the Oregon Wine Research Institute will co-host an academic, alumni, student, and friends’ reception on January 28, 2026, at 5:15 pm. Stay tuned for more details and a registration link.

Here is a list of the rest of our upcoming programs:

On Campus 2026:

• Feb 18, 2026: On Campus Grape Day featuring Farm Advisors, CE Specialists and Faculty!
• April 15, 2026: Enology-Focused Program
• May 21, 2026: Regenerative/Sustainable Practices
• June 3, 2026: Grape Day at the Oakville Station

On the Road 2026:

• Feb 25, 2026: On the Road in San Luis Obispo County, Niner Winery, Paso Robles, CA
• March 4, 2026: On the Road at the HREC in Mendocino County, Hopland, CA
• March 11, 2026: On the Road in Lodi, Burgundy Hall, Grape Festival Grounds, Lodi, CA
• April 28, 2026: On the Road in Napa, CIA/Copia, Napa, CA