The Washington Advancements in Viticulture and Enology (WAVE) seminars, which are co-sponsored with Washington State University, follow a half- to all-day format to highlight viticulture and enology research. WAVEx is the condensed version, often in a webinar format, with targeted topics and practical application. WAVEx allows Washington Wine and WSU to tailor research programming for specific wine regions. WAVEx has visited the following regions: Prosser, Richland, Walla Walla, Lake Chelan, Columbia Gorge and Woodinville.
2025 WAVE: Sustainability in Action
Innovation meets Sustainability in this day-long conference with topics rooted in research to help Washington’s wine industry meet the challenges of tomorrow. Co-sponsored by the Washington State Wine Commission and Washington State University, WAVE 2025 features keynote WSU Ravenholt Lecturer Mary Retallack, Retallack Viticulture, Pty Ltd of South Australia, who will share new approaches to vineyard management to grow resilience, profitability and quality through ecological solutions. Other topics include strategies to manage vineyard and winery challenges, a showcase of current research through visually engaging posters, celebration of Sustainable WA certification leaders, lunch, and a social hour.
April 23 -WSU Tri-Cities Campus
8:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m
2025 WAVEx Webinar Events
January 22, 2025 – Smoke Research Update – Dr. Tom Collins, Washington State University assistant professor, will share recent results from his smoke exposure of wine grapes and wine projects that is funded by the Washington State wine industry. This one-hour webinar is free, but pre-registration is required. Watch the recording here. Watch the recording here.
March 19, 2025 – Insights from Soil Health Long-Term Vineyard Project – Dr. Devin Rippner, USDA-Agricultural Research Service soil scientist, leads the Long-term Agroecological Research and Extension wine grape vineyard planted in Prosser through the Washington Soil Health Inititiative. He will share soil health insights learned from the planting and establishment process of this project that is studying weed control, soil compaction, soil nutrients and more of different compost, and other treatments. REGISTER HERE.
May 14, 2025 – Understanding Condensed Tannins in Red Wines – Drs. Jim Harbertson, Washington State University enology professor, and Andy Waterhouse, University of California, Davis emeritus professor, collaborated on research to better understand condensed tannins in red wines. This webinar discusses advances made in better understanding these modified tannins that occur during winemaking and the aging process and are thought to be very important to the texture of tannin. REGISTER HERE.
Past Webinar Recordings
May 30, 2024 – Irrigation Discoveries – Dr. Markus Keller, Washington State Unversity viticulturist, and his research team, share recent irrigation findings that relates to drought, heat waves and water stress. Watch the webinar recording here.
March 21, 2024 – Putting Beneficials to Work – Dr. David James, Washington State University entomologist, will summarize his findings on how to bolster the effectiveness of biological control with predators and other beneficial bugs. Watch the webinar recording here.
December 6, 2023 – Spotted Lanternfly: What have we learned? – Dr. Michela Centinari, associate professor of viticulture at Pennsylvania State University, has been in the trenches dealing with this relatively new invasive pest in Eastern U.S. grape regions. She will share the successes and failures of management strategies of wine grape growers and why it is critical to keep the pest out of Washington vineyards. Watch the webinar recording here.
April 20, 2023 – Soil Fumigation for Nematodes? – Dr. Michelle Moyer, WSU viticulture extension specialist, shared results from her nematode research that studied the effectiveness of fumigation for nematode control, spanning multiple years. Watch the webinar recording here.
March 23, 2023 – Deep Root Zone Irrigation – Dr. Pete Jacoby, WSU plant ecologist, summarized his work on developing an alternative irrigation delivery system, and what he’s learned from soil moisture irrigation sensors during this one-hour webinar. Watch the webinar recording here.
February 16, 2023 – Stuck Fermentations – Dr. Thomas Henick-Kling, WSU enologist, shared his decades of knowledge about stuck fermentations and what can be expected in making wines from Washington grapes. While there are several known causes of stuck fermentations, he recently found stuck fermentations in Washington wines that are caused by an imbalance of glucose and fructose. During the webinar, Henick-Kling discussed causes of sluggish and stuck fermentations, how to diagnose and correct them. Watch the webinar recording here.
March 24, 2022 – Soil Inoculants – Dr. Tanya Cheeke, assistant professor of microbial ecology at WSU, led a two-year study to better understand the impact of mycorrhizal inoculations on wine grape production in Washington State. Dr. Cheeke will share her research findings and discuss the role that soil fungi can play in Washington vineyards and their potential contribution to sustainable wine grape programs. Watch the webinar recording.
May 20, 2022 – Phylloxera – Washington State University’s Dr. Michelle Moyer will discuss how to use the Phylloxera Risk Assessment Map to determine risk of phylloxera in Washington vineyards. Dr. Doug Walsh, WSU entomologist, will share results from pesticide efficacy trials. Watch the webinar recording here.
August 5, 2021 – What’s in Your Brett Toolbox? – Dr. Charles Edwards, WSU food scientist, summarizes his decades of work focused on developing management tools for wine spoilage. Watch the webinar recording here.
July 14, 2021 – Working with High pH Wines – Dr. Thomas Henick-Kling, WSU, shares insight from recent research to help winemaking work with high pH wines. Watch the webinar recording here. Watch the webinar recording here.
May 27, 2021 – Powdery Mildew: Innovative Strategies – Drs. Michelle Moyer, WSU, and David Gadoury, Cornell University, discuss promising new technology to sustainably control grape powdery mildew that utilizes UV-C light arrays. Watch the webinar recording here.
April 8, 2021 – Crop Estimation Smartphone App – Dr. Manoj Karkee, WSU, will share his progress in developing a smartphone app for growers to use to estimate crop. Watch the webinar recording here.
March 4, 2021 – Managing Grape Leaffolders in Washington, Dr. David James, WSU. Watch the webinar recording here.
January 20, 2021 – Does Mechanization Pencil out for You?, Dr. Clark Seavert, Oregon State University. Watch the webinar recording here.
Status of Smoke Impact in Washington State – Dr. Tom Collins, WSU
Have questions? Contact: Melissa Hansen – mhansen@washingtonwine.org
Please reach out to Melissa Hansen, Research Program Director, at mhansen@washingtonwine.org with questions.
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