The Washington Association of Wine Grape Growers 2014 Annual Conference is the premier educational opportunity for the Northwest grape and wine industry featuring sessions and workshops for growers, viticultural staff, wineries, enologists, tasting room staff and marketers.
The three day event is Feb. 5-7, and is the second largest of its kind in the nation and boasts sixteen educational sessions, with the trade show, featuring 180 booths, held in the adjacent Toyota Center, in Kennewick. All sessions are held at Kennewick’s Three Rivers Convention Center.
This year’s General Session, scheduled Wednesday, Feb. 5, incorporates overarching issues impacting the wine and grape industry including Department of Ecology Office of Columbia River Director Derek Sandison on the limiting effects of water on industry expansion, an update on the Wine Science Center building, the ever-popular Year-in-Review by Wade Wolfe of Thurston Wolfe, viticulturist Lacey Lybeck of Milbrandt on how to utilize AgWeatherNet on a day to day basis and a keynote from Gene Lester, a USDA Ag Research Service National Program Leader, who will discuss how environmental factors affect wine grape quality.
Thursday, February 6 features a session on Viticulture for Vineyard Managers, which examines management decisions needed to incorporate a scientific perspective into vineyard expansion highlighting two panels incorporating industry leaders with the featured presenter Stefano Poni, Fruit and Viticulture Institute Director, Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Piacenza, Italy, on pruning and canopy management.
Friday, February 7 features a session on Managing for Successful Fermentation which will provide insight into understanding microbial ecology and how to successfully manage native and inoculated fermentation. This session targets trained enologists, lab staff, and wine making staff.
The Washington Association of Wine Grape Growers serves wine grape growers and wineries through education, advocacy and leadership to encourage a positive business environment for continued growth and production of world-class, Washington-grown wines.
Visit www.wawgg.org for Convention information.