U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue this week announced that growers who suffered crop losses due to natural disasters in 2018 or 2019 can apply for assistance through theWildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program Plus (WHIP+). Winegrape growers who suffered losses due to smoke exposure events in 2018 are eligible. The California Association of Winegrape Growers (CAWG) worked with members of …

The mountain vineyards of El Dorado AVA report that Labor Day weekend was largely the beginning of the 2019 harvest season in El Dorado County. According to several El Dorado vintners, this is late by one or two weeks compared to average pick time dates in the AVA. The later start will only enhance a favorable condition in high-elevation vineyards …

The Napa Valley Grapegrowers (NVG) and Napa Valley Farmworker Foundation are proud to announce that a record-breaking $2.32 million was raised at the 12th annual Harvest STOMP, held this past Saturday, August 24th. Thanks to the generous support of sponsors, 100% of donations made during the event go directly to programs that preserve Napa Valley vineyards and provide educational opportunities …

Grape harvest is underway in the southern part of the state and has recently started in the Lafayette area. Most varieties are slightly behind normal this year.  We generally harvest early varieties such as Brianna, Edelweiss and Prairie Star about the third week of August and many other early varieties starting the first week of September. Lately, the weather has …

Wasps, hornets, and even bees are opportunistic feeders, and during the mid to late summer they are actively searching for sources of sugars. Once they find sources of sugary foods, they will aggressively forage in those areas and recruit additional workers from the colony. As such, these stinging insects can be a real nuisance in grapes, especially at harvest. Unfortunately, …

Spotted-wing Drosophila (SWD) trap catches continued to remain high at our four remaining locations in the last week of August. In addition to fall raspberry risk of damage, a key concern for grape growers should be the high numbers of SWD at Chanhassen (Hort. Research Center, HRC), and at Hastings. Traps in our network are effective at catching both male and …

Tim Martinson – In most of New York, numbers are running well behind last year at this time. Among the standard French and Geneva hybrids, soluble solids are running 2-5 °Brix lower and titratable acidity (TA) 3-8 g/liter higher than last year. Cold climate Minnesota varieties Frontenac, La Crescent, and Marquette are 1.7 to 4.7 °Brix lower, and TAs are …

As many of us across the state are either in the midst of harvesting or are finished, we can take a look back at the season that Mother Nature threw at us. For most of us, both fall and spring were unseasonably wet. The rain acted as both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because the vines experienced little …

Suisun Valley, Fairfield, California: The Suisun Valley Vintners and Growers Association has formally requested California Department of Food and Agriculture to petition for amendment to boundary definition of Grape Pricing District (aka crush district) 5 in eastern Solano County. The effort is being filed on behalf of the Association by Roger King, Chairman, Growers Committee. The last such amendment to …

Atascadero, California, August 27, 2019 – SIP Certified (Sustainability in Practice) has just released a list of new vineyards that have been certified sustainable for 2019. The high-profile group includes six new properties and two long-time members. SIP Certified is one of the wine industry’s oldest and most important sustainability assessment and certification programs. The SIP Certified logo guarantees that …