Please follow this link: 2016 Winter Technical Meeting for meeting details and to register, either online or to print forms for mail in. View Full Meeting Agenda Here! Hotel reservation information is also listed -- remember rooms go quick to reserve soon. Meeting registration deadline is January 6th, 2016. See you in January!
Last February at our annual meeting, the Virginia Vineyard Association’s 2014 Grower of the Year Award was presented to Fernando Franco, viticulturist at Barboursville Vineyards, Barboursville, Virginia. Todd Haymore, Virginia Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry, presents the VVA Grower of the Year award to Fernando Franco. Do you know someone in the industry that you feel deserves our recognition? If so, please nominate him or her! Nominations are being accepted through December 19, 2015. The candidate should meet the following qualifications: Be nominated by an active member of the VVA Managed or operated a vineyard in Virginia for at [...]
Please join us at 6:00pm on Thursday, November 19th at Fabbioli Cellars to watch and discuss the film, “The Winemaker’s Year”. Fabbioli Cellars is located at: 15669 Limestone School Road, Leesburg, VA 20176. Refreshments will be provided and wine tastings available. Please contact mark.sutphin@vt.edu or call/text 540.398.8148 if you are interested in carpooling from the Winchester area.
There is a lot to read in this issue of the Grape Press! Highlights include: Looking Back at the Season | Tom Kelly How to Assess When Rain Threatens | Tony Wolfe When Spreading Goes Wrong | Bill Tonkins Mildew: No Rest for the Weary | Mizuho Nita Fall 2015 Grape Press
This video confirms and reinforces what we already know about predators in the vineyard. This young fellow/gal is about a year old and apparently on its own. It was quite aware of my presence but not a bit bothered by it as it was clearly focused on the fruit. The video was captured at about 9am while I was sampling fruit for a client. I only regret that my phone would not zoom in any closer and the quality is not great but you can clearly see the visitor is larger than a bread basket (and yes, I got the sample [...]
The VVA will be holding it's winter meeting at the Omni Hotel in Charlottesville, Virginia January 28-30, 2016. Please save the date to your calendar and watch for registration to open in November. A special item of note: over the years the meeting has grown and last year we found ourselves beyond capacity for the Omni's meeting space. As such, there will be NO onsite registration. All registrations must be made prior to the meeting. The VVA Board is working hard to put together a great program. We look forward to seeing you there!
Follow this link for details about the 2015-2016 program at Piedmont Virginia Community College: PVCC Viticulture & Enology Programs
VVA Viticulture Trip to Chili and Argentina VVA has announced its second overseas viticulture and wine making tour, the first having been to Bordeaux two years ago. This time we will be taking a 9-day trip to Chile and Argentina to seek out advanced viticulture and wine making in those rapidly developing countries. The dates will be from Saturday, February 20, 2016 to Sunday, February 28, as requested by the early responders. The itinerary has been finalized. Some of the industry players we visit will be household names; some will be nearly unknown. Please read the VVA Chile Argentina Preliminary Brochure. In [...]
The latest issue of the VVA Grape Press is out! Highlights of the issue include: In Pursuit of Virginia's Terroir | Jim Law Improving Yields and Quantity | Tom Kelly A 4-Step Look at Spray Drift | Jim Benefiel Better Wine - from the Vineyard | Bruce Zoecklein Land Use Tax Basics and Vineyards | Bill Robson Summer 2015 Grape Press
The Virginia Vineyards Association and Virginia Cooperative Extension are pleased to present the 2015 Summer Technical meeting: “Vineyard Renovation and Semi-automated Tools for the Small Grower”. The single-day program is graciously being hosted at Ingleside Vineyards in Oak Grove, Virginia. The event will feature a continuation of the vineyard renovation topic from our Winter Technical Meeting presented by Ingleside’s own Doug Flemmer. Also on the docket are demonstrations of drone use in the vineyard, semi-automated tools for the small grower and a canopy management lecture. In addition, there will be seasonal viticulture updates from Dr. Tony Wolf, Dr. Mizuho Nita and [...]
