Ohio Grape Electronic Newsletter

Editor: Imed Dami, PhD
Assistant Professor, Viticulture Specialist
Department of Horticulture and Crop Science
Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center
1680 Madison Avenue
Wooster, OH 44691-4096
Phone: (330)-263-3882
Fax: (330)-263-3887
E-mail: dami.1@osu.edu
 
13 January 2006
 

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Content:
 
Ohio Grape-Wine Short Course
2006 Upcoming Events
Ohio Fruit & Veg Congress Has a New Home

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Ohio Grape-Wine Short Course
By Dr. Imed Dami, OARDC
 
Happy New Year to all!! Please join us at the 34th Ohio Grape-Wine Short Course to be held on 12-14 February 2006 at the Holiday Inn & Roberts Conference Centre in Wilmington, OH. Five featured speakers from around the country will share their experience and expertise in diverse topics of viticulture, enology, and marketing. Dr. Jim Joseph will speak at the short course for the first time and will share with us his research findings on effects of anti-oxidants in fruits and grapes on human (not oak…) aging and other health benefits. Dr. Peter Cousins is a grape rootstock breeder and geneticist will give recommendations on how to select the right rootstock and how to obtain a clean plant material for your vineyard. Peter Bell, winemaker at Fox Run Vineyards and Henry Work, oak barrel expert, will present topics in oak aging and management and effects on premium wine production. Linda Jones is a Marketing Expert who will share her experience with the grape and wine industry in Michigan.Ohio State Specialists and Extension Educators will share their latest research as well.  Special marketing sessions will also precede the short course and as always a Trade Show, wine tasting and a banquet will be part of this exciting program. For more information or to register, see the attached brochure or visit OWPA website: http://www.ohiowines.org and follow the link to the 2006 short course. More details of the program agenda will be posted soon. We hope to see you there.


Ohio Fruit & Veg Congress Has a New Home
Source: Ohio Fruit ICM News

Ohio Fruit and Vegetable Congress and Ohio Direct Marketing Conference, will have a new home. The event, previously held every year in Toledo, Ohio, will take place at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio.  The conference is being sponsored by Ohio State University, the Ohio Vegetable and Potato Growers Association and the Ohio Fruit Growers Society.  The event will be held in conjunction with the Ohio Direct Agricultural Marketing Association and the Mid American Ag and Hort Human Resource conferences.

"The conference is centrally located and will be more convenient for growers throughout Ohio and neighboring states," said Joe Burnham IV, OFGS president.  "We hope this new venue will be of greater service to our members and exhibitors."

The three-day event and trade show offers educational sessions, workshops and information on a wide variety of topics including fruit and vegetable production and processing, direct marketing, human resource management and food safety.  New additions to this year s program include sessions on cover crops, reduced tillage systems, reduced disease pressures, soil fertility and profitable marketing techniques.Other conference highlights include:

The Human Resource Conference, which is designed to help service specialty growers and marketers with sessions devoted to worker safety, cultural understanding, labor law compliance, innovative human resource strategies, supervisor training and employee productivity.

Emerging Technologies Workshop, developed by the Ohio State Precision Agriculture Team.  The workshop focuses on new sprayer technologies, utilizing advanced wireless technologies, product identity preservation, traceback applications and E-commerce.

New Technologies for In-Season Plant, Insect & Disease Diagnostics, also developed by Ohio States Precision Agriculture Team.

Workshop for organic/sustainable fruit and vegetable production that will integrate decades of grower experience and combine this expertise with the latest university research.

A New and Small Grower Workshop is intended for entrepreneurs who desire to increase their expertise in high value crop production, marketing, goal setting, budgeting and business plans.

A workshop that is intended for growers who have an interest in conducting an environmental self-assessment of their operation to better evaluate their environmental risk.

Center for Innovative Food Technology program on minimizing the risk of microbial contamination in farm produce.

Workshops on agritourism, farmers markets, direct marketing, liability risk management, running the family business, and safety training seminars.

The conference will feature educational programs from noted national experts from such places as the University of California, Davis; Cornell University; Purdue University; U.S. Department of Agriculture; North Carolina State University; University of Wisconsin-Madison; and Ohio State University.

For more information on the Ohio Fruit and Vegetable Growers Congress, contact Tom Sachs at (614) 246-8290, or e-mail: tsachs@ofbf.org, or contact Kathy Lutz at (614) 246-8292 or e-mail klutz@ofbf.org.  Exhibitor, registration and hotel information is available at http://www.ohiofruit.org, or http://www.ohiovegetables.org. There are registration discounts for OFGS and OVPGA members, as well as a pre-registration discount if completed by Jan. 4, 2006. Location information for the Greater Columbus Convention Center may be found at http://www.columbusconventions.com.

2006 Upcoming Events

January
 
10-11  Kentucky Grape and Wine Short Course.  Holiday Inn North in Lexington, KY.  Speakers include UK extension agents Kaan Kurtural and Tom Cotrell and visiting Andy Allen from Missouri.  A banquet and celebration of KY wines is included.  For information, contact Dr. John Strang at jstrang@uky.edu or 859-257-5685.
 
12     Wine Grape Session of the New Jersey Vegetable Growers Association meeting.  Borgata Hotel and Casino, Atlantic City, NJ.  1-4 p.m.  Contact Gary Pavlis at Rutgers Cooperative Extension for information and registration.  (609) 625-0056. 
 
       Afternoon: Wine maker Technical Workshop.  Farm and Home Center. Lancaster, PA. 2 – 5 p.m. Open to all commercial wine makers and grape growers. Theme and invited speaker TBA.  Is there anything more important to making good wine than to taste wines?  And not just your own.  Reference wines, other wine makers' wines, near and far.  Tasting is the key to learning and improving. Meeting is free and no pre-registration is required.   Directions at http://lancasterext.cas.psu.edu.   Call Mark Chien or Stephen Menke for information. 


16-18 Ohio Fruit and Vegetable Congress and Ohio Direct Marketing Conference, Columbus, OH. Go to http://www.ohiofruit.org/

 
23    Indiana Grape and Wine Symposium.  Adam’s Mark Hotel. Indianapolis, IN.  Concurrent with the annual horticulture congress, grape and wine sessions occur over the three days.  Monday night reception and banquet. Trade show.  For information, go to http://www.indianawines.org/.
 
24-26  Unified Grape and Wine Symposium.  Sacramento Convention Center, Sacramento, CA.  The largest wine and grape meeting and trade show of the year is sponsored by ASEV and CAWG.  Seminars focus on practical wine growing information.  The trade show is HUGE.  For more information, visit their web site at http://www.unifiedsymposium.org/
 
31    Wine Grape Section of the Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention.  Hershey Lodge and Convention Center, Hershey, PA.  9 a.m. to 5 p.m.  The focus of the meeting will be on late season/harvest disease problem such as botrytis, ripe rot, bitter rot and sour rot. Dr Turner Sutton from NC State University is the featured speaker.  Weed control strategies are also on the program.  A PA, NJ, Md grower panel on disease control and canopy management.  A large trade show is part of the meeting.  The meeting is sponsored by the State Horticulture Association of Pennsylvania, Penn State, Univ of Maryland and Rutgers Univ.  Core pesticide credits will be available. Registration fee.  For registration, call Maureen Irvin at 717-677-4184. 
 
February
 
 
2-4    Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA) annual conference.  Penn Stater Hotel, State College, PA.  “Farming for the Future”.  This amazing event is PASA's signature and our main vehicle for community building. Widely regarded as the best of its kind in the East, this diverse 3-day spectacular brings together an audience of over 1,500 farmers, processors, consumers, students, environmentalists, and business and community leaders annually. For complete information and registration, go to the PASA web site at http://www.pasafarming.org/
 
3-5   Cold Climate Wine and Grape Conference.  Kahler Grand Hotel in Rochester, MN.  The theme of this year’s meeting is Northern Viticulture Coming of Age: The Business of Growing Grapes and Making Wine in the North.  Sponsored by the MN Grape Growers Assoc.  For information, please go to http://mngrapes.org/ccgw_conference.html
 
4-6   21st Annual Mid-America Grape and Wine Conference will feature a symposium on grapevine rootstocks at the Tan-Tar-A Resort in Osage Beach, MO.  For information and registration, please contact Gloria Smith at 417.926.4105 or visit http://mtngrv.smsu.edu/mvec/
 
5-10  Sixth International Cool Climate Symposium for Enology and Viticulture.  Christchurch, New Zealand.  The theme is “winegrowing for the future”.  Program includes a long list of international speakers.  ICCS started in New York and has become a great success.  Yes, there are cool areas of PA that make this meeting relevant.  Remember, it’s summer down there! Many organized vineyard tour options.  Visit their web site at http://www.iccs2006.org.nz
 
12-14  34th Ohio Grape-Wine Short Course, Holiday Inn & Roberts Conference Centre, Wilmington, OH. Practical information for growers and wine makers as well as latest research from OSU-OARDC. For more information and to register, visit:  http://www.ohiowines.org/
 
10-11   Virginia Vineyard Association Annual Winter Meeting.  Omni Hotel, Charlottesville, VA.  Two days of practical information for growers and wine makers and research information from VA Tech.  For more information, please visit http://www.virginiavineyardsassociation.com/
 
15-16   Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Convention.  Brock University, Ste Catherines, Ontario.  Dr. Terry Bates, viticulturist from Cornell is a featured speaker.  For more information, please go to http://fruitveggie.hortport.com/Current_Issue.htm
 
 
March
 
1-3    Michigan Wine Industry Annual Meeting.  Crystal Mountain Resort.  Thompsonville,  MI.  Wine marketing writer Elizabeth Slater will offer two workshops and provide individual consulting. Other sessions include Scott Labs on finishing wine for bottling and wine makers’ tasting.  Find more details at http://www.michiganwines.com/index.html
 
3-4    56th Annual Finger Lakes Grape Growers Convention and Trade Show.  Holiday Inn. Waterloo. NY.  Practical information for growers and wine makers as well as latest research from NYSAES.  Breakout sessions on soil health and root biology, grower technology innovations, sprayer technology, business management issues  and ‘the basics’ for new growers on Friday, research, pest management updates and trade show on Saturday.  For more information, please call 315-536-5134 or visit http://www.cce.cornell.edu/programs/finger-lakes-grape/. . 
 
4      Maryland Grape Growers Association Annual Meeting.  Turf Valley Resort, Ellicott City, MD.  Alice Wise from Cornell Cooperative Extension on Long Island will talk about sustainable viticulture practices.  Ed Boyce from Black Ankle Vineyard will talk about the development of their vineyard using biodynamic principles and Phil Roth from Roth Vineyard in Fairfield, PA will speak on his experience using compost in his vineyard.  A panel discussion with wine makers and growers will discuss this important relationship.  For more information, visit the MGGA web site at www.marylandwine.com/mgga/ or contact Dick Penna at 310-432-2338 for information. 
 
11     Grape Expectations: A Viticultural and Enological Symposium.  Forsgate Country Club. Monroe Twp, NJ.  A full day of viticulture and enology topics focusing on practical aspects of wine growing in New Jersey.  Mystery wine and awards for NJ wines are presented.  For information and registration, please contact Dr. Gary Pavlis at 609-758-7311. 
 
12-15   30th Annual Wineries Unlimited.  Lancaster Host Resort.  Lancaster, PA.  This is the largest wine and vineyard seminar and trade show east of the Rockies.  The theme for this year’s meeting is “Sustainability” with sessions from biodynamic to cold climate wine growing. Speakers come from all around the U.S.  A strong emphasis on marketing wine products. The last day is a focused seminar topic.  On-line registration is available and more information at http://www.myvwm.com/
 
15     New Grape Grower Workshop in association with Wineries Unlimited.  Host Resort.  Lancaster, PA.  8 a.m. to 5 p.m. This intensive, full-day overview is directed at people who have just started a vineyard or plan to start a commercial vineyard in the Mid-Atlantic regions.  It is team taught by Dr. Joe Fiola (U Md),  Mark Chien (Penn State) and Fritz Westover (VA Tech).  It covers all topics associated with developing and operating a commercial vineyard including site selection, grape market, vineyard economics, equipment and supplies, site preparation, varieties and rootstocks, trellis systems, disease, pest and weed control and management into the first year.  Registration fee is $135 and includes lunch, breaks and handouts. Register through Penn State Coop Ext.  Contact Mark Chien at 717.394.6851 for more information and registration. 
 
19-22   Terroir 2006: A Dialogue between Earth Scientists and Winemakers.  Davis, California. This international conference will explore how aspects of terroir can be studied scientifically in ways that are of use to the wine industry.  Planned sessions include * What is Terroir? * Terroir Around the World * Geology, Soils, Nutrients and Terroir * Climate, Water, and Terroir * Expressions of Terroir in Vine and Grape Physiology * Marketing the Romance of Terroir * Terroir and the Sensory Characteristics of Wine * Impact of Global Climate Change * New Techniques for Studying Terroir * Terroir and Cuisine.  For more information, go to http://terroir2006.ucdavis.edu
 
30     Lake Erie Grape Growers Convention.  Fredonia State University, Fredonia, NY.  Breakout sessions with information on process and wine grapes with a trade show.  For information call Linda Aures at 715-672-5296 or visit http://lenewa.netsync.net/public/lergphom.htm
 
April
 
5-7    35th Annual New York Wine Industry Workshop.  NYSAES, Geneva, NY.  The program includes seminars on wine marketing hosted by NY Wine and Grape Foundation and the annual Unity Dinner.  Also included is a trade show and technical seminar focus on wine bottling.  Information and registration at http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/fst/faculty/henick/events.html
 
May
 
8-10    Pennsylvania Wine Association Annual Meeting.  Wyndham Hotel Harrisburg/Hershey. Harrisburg, PA.  Invited speakers focus on current topics important to the PA wine industry. Enology, wine marketing and viticulture topics are all on the program.  Pesticide credits available.  Awards banquet and annual PWA business meeting.  For information, please call Jennifer at 717-234-1844. 
 
June      
 
7    Maryland Grape Growers’ Association Field Day.  Upper Marlboro UMD Center. Visit the MGGA web site for details. www.marylandwine.com/mgga/
 
28-30  American Society for Enology and Viticulture Annual Convention.  Sacramento, CA.  ASEV is the professional association of the U.S. wine industry.  The focus is on viticulture and enology research with a large trade show.  For more information, go to www.asev.org.
 
July
 
9-12  American Society for Enology and Viticulture Eastern Section Annual Meeting. Rochester, NY. This is an important opportunity for non-western states growers to hear the latest research results from their regions include student papers and Viticulture Consortium projects.  Pre-conference tour of Finger Lakes wineries is available.  For more information, visit the ASEV-ES web site at http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/fst/asev/