Published in Good Fruit Grower
By Melissa Hansen, Washington State Wine Commission
September 1, 2020
The Washington wine industry’s viticulture and enology research program is stronger than ever. The Washington State Wine Commission allocated a record amount of nearly $1.2 million for research this fiscal year (July 2020 to June 2021), up nearly 15 percent compared to last year. The increase is a direct result of more financial support from the Auction of Washington Wines for viticulture and enology research at Washington State University and new research grant programs funded by the Wine Commission. With stable and sustainable research funding in place, researchers are able to tackle many of the industry’s research priorities.
Program stability brings continuity to research projects, the ability to support multiyear studies, and supports “outside-the-box” concepts that have some risk but big payoff for growers and winemakers, if successful. Some of the most important priorities are new and continuing pest challenges, including phylloxera and grapevine viruses; the development of labor-saving tools for growers; dialing in irrigation strategies in a changing climate; and addressing winemaking challenges from smoke and freeze exposure.
Read more by downloading the full article above.