A TRIBUTE TO PAUL VERDEGAAL

A TRIBUTE TO PAUL VERDEGAAL

Tribute to Paul Verdegaal – one of Lodi’s “men behind the curtain” by Randy Caparoso. This coming February 6, 2018, Lodi winegrowers will get together for their 66th Annual LODI GRAPE DAY. They will also mark the occasion with a celebration of the retirement of Paul...
FROST, COVER CROPS & ICE NUCLEATING BACTERIA

FROST, COVER CROPS & ICE NUCLEATING BACTERIA

Plant microbiomes are a topic of microbiology research that is rapidly growing with numerous new discoveries. Like humans, plants are covered with microbes that serve many functions from assisting with absorbing nutrients, protecting plants from pathogens, and other...
MANAGING MECHANIZED VINEYARD EQUIPMENT FOR EFFICIENCY

MANAGING MECHANIZED VINEYARD EQUIPMENT FOR EFFICIENCY

DECEMBER 15, 2017.  BY STAN GRANT, VITICULTURIST. For several decades, the number of mechanized operations in winegrape vineyards has steadily increased. The main driver for mechanization has been the need for increased operational efficiency. Simply mechanizing an...
PRE-PRUNERS, ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL

PRE-PRUNERS, ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL

  One of the most challenging operations in Lodi vineyards is to pre-prune.  It can be difficult to choose pre-pruning equipment since Lodi growers are using multiple different trellis systems (and sometimes  also odd configurations within those trellis...
CALL FOR GUEST BLOG POSTS!

CALL FOR GUEST BLOG POSTS!

    Did you ever wonder how you could volunteer to write a BLOG POST for lodigrowers.com and reach a wide audience in over 30 countries?!  I bet you did! Here at the Lodi Winegrape Commission, we are EXTREMELY GRATEFUL for our talented, amazing regular guest...

TOP TEN TAKE-AWAYS FROM THE SUSTAINABLE AG EXPO

Harvest has come to a close but meeting season is in full swing for the winegrape industry!  Several members of the Lodi winegrowing community headed south to fun and beautiful San Luis Obispo, California (SLO) for the tenth annual Sustainable Ag Expo hosted by our...

VINEYARD LONGEVITY

NOVEMBER 9, 2017.  BY STAN GRANT, VITICULTURIST. Vineyards are long-term investments expected to annually generate profitable yields of high quality winegrapes over many years (Fig. 1).  Unfortunately, too often this expectation is not fulfilled.  There are three...

NOW’S THE TIME: BARN OWL BOX MAINTENANCE

Now is the time to clean out your barn owl nesting boxes, which depending on where you live are usually empty from Halloween until early December!  Much like teenagers, the owls don’t clean out their own nests (which they create from regurgitated pellets –...

VINEYARD BUSINESS IDENTITY AND MARKETING

OCTOBER 19. 2017.  BY STAN GRANT, VITICULTURIST. Every business has an identity – that is a commonly held impression of its character within its market.  For example, those of us involved in the winegrape industry hold certain perceptions about other vineyard...

FIRE DISASTER RELIEF #CAWineStrong

Wine industry leaders have formed a support network to provide immediate assistance and long-term aid to victims of the fires ravaging Northern California and are calling on the national wine community for additional help. Organized by a group of association leaders...

PREMIUMIZATION – WHAT’S IT MEAN FOR LODI?

Premiumization.  It’s a word that prevails today when attempting to describe a main characteristic of the wine business.  You won’t find this word in the Merriam-Webster, Cambridge or Oxford Dictionaries, but according to Wiktionary on-line, it’s “The move toward more...

THE VALUE OF VITICULTURAL RESEARCH

How did California become the home of the largest new world wine industry?  While the answer is multifaceted, one factor looms large and that is viticultural research. This story begins in 1880, when the state legislature passed a law that charged the University of...