On June 4th the Department organized a Wine Flavor 101 program on campus titled “Managing Red Wine Quality”. After an overview by Anita Oberholster (Cooperative Extension Specialist in Enology), a great selection of talks by Professors Dave Block, Jim Harbertson and Andy Waterhouse covered topics such as the impact of cap management, fermentation temperature, extended maceration, exogenous tannins and micro-oxygenation on wine composition and potentially quality. The findings of many of these research studies were supported by wine tastings. The program was concluded with a panel of three winemakers, Celia Welch, Cal Dennison and Sebastian Donoso, who presented their thoughts on how to make the best possible wines in three very different wine style categories.  This led to vigorous discussion in light of all the research that was shared during the day as well. As always it was a well-received learning experience!

The V&E Extension annual Fermentation Readiness program, titled “Current Issues in Fermentation Readiness”, was held on July 27, 2018.  As always, this topic is presented as close to actual harvest and fermentation as possible so that the research and data discussed will be timely and easily recalled when needed.

Presentations covered microbial assessments in both the vineyard and the winery as well as what to measure to ensure successful fermentations.  A panel of winemakers, Signe Zoller, Greg La Follette, Maria Torres Forno, discussed their experiences with problem fermentations, whether originating from the vineyard or the winery.