The Virginia Vineyards Association is excited to sponsor the American Society for Enology and Viticulture Eastern Section Conference with Workshop: “Pioneering Wine Grape Varieties Adapted to the Challenges of the East” July 10-12, 2017!
The Virginia Vineyards Association (VVA) members are invited and encouraged to attend the annual meeting of the Eastern Section of the American Society for Enology and Viticulture (ASEV/ES) which will be meeting at the Omni Hotel in Charlottesville. Hosting this meeting only falls to Virginia about once every 10 years and is a great opportunity for us to showcase the best of Virginia!
 
The meeting will include an industry tour on Monday, July 10th, followed by a day of technical oral and poster presentations on the 11th, and a half-day workshop on Wednesday, July 12th that will feature invited talks on recent wine grape variety releases from grape breeding institutions in the US. The morning of the 12th the VVA will have a breakout session for our members only – see abbreviated schedule at the bottom.
 
Guest speakers include: 
  • Dr. Andrew Walker of the University of California, Davis who will speak about the series of vinifera selections that he has developed that possess a high degree of Pierce’s Disease tolerance; wines from several of these new selections will be poured.
  • Dr. John Clark of the University of Arkansas will discuss two warm-climate varieties recently released from his program: ‘Opportunity’, a white variety, and ‘Enchantment’ a red. Renee Threlfall, also of the University of Arkansas, will pour and describe wines from these varieties.
  • On the other end of the thermal spectrum, Matthew Clark of the University of Minnesota has been invited to speak about ‘Itasca’, a white hybrid that possesses excellent cold hardiness, good powdery and downy mildew resistance, and has much better fruit chemistry than some of the previous Minnesota selections (lower acidity and higher Brix).
In addition to invited speakers, we anticipate a number of volunteered talks at the symposium on the topic of variety evaluations. The full conference program can be found here: ASEV/ES Program Description.
 
The VVA has donated Virginia wine for the Sparkling Wine Reception and Banquet. An optional event, the evening affords our members the rare opportunity to mix with industry and academic professionals.
 
VVA members can attend the 2-day technical meeting at the ASEV/ES member rate of $150, which includes the VVA breakout session.
VVA Member Only Breakout Schedule: Wednesday, July 12, 2017 (Preston Room):
7:45am –8:55am Ask the Experts Breakfast
9:00am – 9:30am Seasonal Updates
9:30am – 10:30am Vintage Experiences and Winegrowing Innovation Panel
10:30am Rejoin the ASEV/ES in the main ballroom
Complete the registration form found here: ASEV/ES Registration. Registration will not be handled by the VVA.
Please note a late registration fee is imposed after 2 July 2017. 
For Omni lodging details and more information about ASEV/ES please visit their website: asev-es.org.
If you have any questions contact ASEV/ES conference registrar, Nancy Long, directly at 315-787-2288 or NPL1@cornell.edu.