Registration for Washington Wine research seminar now open

Innovation is scheduled to meet sustainability at Washington Advancements in Viticulture and Enology (WAVE), the Washington wine industry’s annual research event.

The event, scheduled for April 23 at the Washington State University’s (WSU) Tri-Cities campus in Richland, Washington, is considered the industry’s signature event. 

This year’s seminar, with topics rooted in research to help Washington’s wine industry meet the challenges of tomorrow, combines the annual WAVE research-focused seminar co-sponsored by the Washington State Wine Commission and WSU’s educational Ravenholt Seminar series. 

Presentations are designed to share strategies to manage vineyard pests and winery issues for long-term viability and sustainability, according to a news release. 

Other vineyard topics to be discussed at the seminar include sustainable approaches to foliar diseases, novel technologies for weed control and management of mealybug, the insect that spreads grapevine leafroll virus. Winery topics include managing barrel alternatives for quality, material and cost, sustainable approaches to winery sanitation, and ways to save winery water and energy usage and costs.

Additionally, sustainable and eco-label marketing trends will be shared and the marketing and promotion campaign for the vineyard certification Sustainable WA program will be introduced by GreenRubino of Seattle. The campaign is funded through a Specialty Crop Block Grant that was awarded to the Washington State Wine Commission through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and administered by the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA). More than one-third of the wine grape acreage in Washington has been certified through Sustainable WA and numerous wines with the certification logo are available in the marketplace. 

Research will be showcased through poster presentations and a celebration of industry members of Sustainable WA, the Washington wine industry’s sustainable certification program. 

Mary Retallack, an internationally renowned scientist, agro-ecologist and third generation viticulturist, is scheduled to deliver the keynote Ravenholt Lecture. Retallack, a viticultural consultant from Adelaide, Australia, co-founded and manages the National EcoVineyards Program, a three-year, $2.2M regionally based initiative funded by Wine Australia that works across nine wine growing regions with more than 75 demonstration sites testing a range of ecological practices in commercial vineyards to enhance soil health and improve vineyard biodiversity. 

Retallack will share program insight, general soil health and biodiversity practices and how to integrate such practices into a vineyard management system. While in Washington, she will visit vineyards and meet with growers and winemakers. Her participation as the Ravenholt Lecturer speaks volumes about the Washington wine industry’s commitment to wine quality and sustainability, according to the release.

The WSU Ravenholt lecturer is supported by an endowment from Albert Ravenholt, a Washington wine industry pioneer.

Those interested in attending can register for WAVE and get more details online.