Home Industry News Releases Washington Wine Research Program Again Awards $1 Million

Washington Wine Research Program Again Awards $1 Million

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Industry-funded research benefits Washington’s wine industry.

SEATTLE (April 12, 2018) – For the second straight year, the Washington State Wine Commission recommended viticulture and enology research totaling more than $1 million dollars be funded for 2018-19 through the statewide wine research grant program administered by Washington State University. The research grants aim to improve overall wine quality by addressing vineyard and winery challenges.

This year’s research funding of nearly $1,009,000 is 30 percent higher than funding five years ago of $776,280. The research program will fund 17 viticulture and enology research projects that focus on vineyard health, such as grapevine diseases and a new leaf-folder pest, irrigation water savings and efficiencies, heat stress and drought, and new spray application technologies. Winery research topics include tannin management, wine quality impacts from mechanization, wine spoilage, sensory characteristics of wine, and the impact of pH on wine microbial ecology.

New this year are two projects addressing labor shortages that are occurring in Washington vineyards, says Rick Hamman, vineyard manager for Hogue Ranches of Prosser and chair of the Wine Commission’s Wine Research Advisory Committee, a subcommittee that annually reviews research proposals and makes funding recommendations. “Washington wine grape growers, like many other farmers, are feeling the pinch of a dwindling labor supply,” he said. “One research project aims to develop a precise mechanical solution for shoot thinning, while another begins development of a smartphone application for crop load estimation. “Both shoot thinning and crop estimating are very labor intensive, time consuming chores in the vineyard.”

Hamman noted that previous research outcomes have made significant industry impact and benefited all involved in Washington’s wine industry, from large to small growers and wineries.

Viticulture and enology research in Washington is funded through the statewide Grape and Wine Research Program, which has a unique set of funding partners unlike any in the nation. The program receives industry support from the Washington State Wine Commission; state government dollars through WSU; a portion of the sales tax paid all wine sold in the state; and private donations from the Auction of Washington Wines, an annual event held to raise awareness of Washington wine. WSU’s Viticulture and Enology research and Seattle’s Children’s Hospital are the Auction’s two beneficiaries.

 

About Washington State Wine

Washington State Wine represents every licensed winery and wine grape grower in Washington State. Guided by an appointed board, the mission of the WSW is to raise positive awareness and demand for Washington State wine through marketing and education while supporting viticulture and enology research to drive industry growth.  Funded almost entirely by the industry through assessments based on grape and wine sales, the WSW is a state government agency, established by the legislature in 1987. To learn more, visit www.washingtonwine.org

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