Australian eco-vineyardist will keynote WAVE seminar in 2025
SEATTLE (March 24, 2025)— Innovation meets sustainability at the Washington wine industry’s annual signature research event—Washington Advancements in Viticulture and Enology—to be held on April 23, 2025, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., followed by a wine social, at the Washington State University’s Tri-Cities campus in Richland.
This year’s seminar, with topics rooted in research to help Washington’s wine industry meet the challenges of tomorrow, combines the annual WAVE research-focused seminar co-sponsored by the Washington State Wine Commission and WSU’s educational Ravenholt Seminar series. It includes the keynote WSU Ravenholt Lecturer, supported by an endowment from Albert Ravenholt, a pioneer of the Washington wine industry, and presentations that share strategies to manage vineyard pests and winery issues for long-term viability and sustainability. Also, there will be a showcase of research through poster presentations and a celebration of industry members of Sustainable WA, the Washington wine industry’s sustainable certification program.
Internationally renowned scientist, agro-ecologist and third generation viticulturist Mary Retallack will deliver the keynote Ravenholt Lecture. Retallack, a viticultural consultant from Adelaide, Australia, co-founded and manages the National EcoVineyards Program, a three-year, $2.2M regionally based initiative funded by Wine Australia. The grassroots-focused ecovineyards program works across nine wine growing regions with more than 75 demonstration sites that are testing a range of ecological practices in commercial vineyards to enhance soil health and improve vineyard biodiversity. Retallack will share program insight, general soil health and biodiversity practices, and how to integrate such practices into a vineyard management system. While in Washington, she will visit vineyards and meet with growers and winemakers. Her participation as the Ravenholt Lecturer speaks volumes about the Washington wine industry’s commitment to wine quality and sustainability.
Other vineyard topics to be discussed at the seminar include sustainable approaches to foliar diseases, novel technologies for weed control and management of mealybug, the insect that spreads grapevine leafroll virus. Winery topics include managing barrel alternatives for quality, material and cost, sustainable approaches to winery sanitation and ways to save winery water and energy usage and costs.
Additionally, sustainable and eco-label marketing trends will be shared and the marketing and promotion campaign for the vineyard certification Sustainable WA program will be unveiled by GreenRubino of Seattle. The campaign is funded through a Specialty Crop Block Grant that was awarded to the Washington State Wine Commission through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and administered by the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA). More than one-third of the wine grape acreage in Washington has been certified through Sustainable WA and numerous wines with the certification logo are available in the marketplace.
Visit www.washingtonwine.org/wave/ to learn more.
About the Washington State Wine Commission:
The Washington State Wine Commission (WSWC) represents every licensed winery and wine grape grower in Washington State. Guided by an appointed board, WSWC provides a marketing platform to raise positive awareness about the Washington wine industry and generate greater demand for its wines. Funded almost entirely by the industry through assessments based on grape and wine sales, WSWC is a state government agency, established by the legislature in 1987. Learn more at www.washingtonwine.org.
