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...

SEPTEMBER PEST MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES

One of the newest educational activities on the calendar for the Lodi Winegrape Commission is a monthly Lodi CD11 PCA Network Breakfast Meeting that is held on the first Tuesday morning of each month.  You can find the time and location of the meetings at...

CAN YOU CASH IN ON THE R&D TAX CREDIT?

At over $12 billion annually, the research and development (R&D) tax credit is one of the largest tax incentives available to businesses. For wineries and grape growers, the potential tax savings could be significant. Yet many Northern California wineries and...

VARIETY FOCUS: CHARDONNAY

  In the late 1980’s, as sales of varietal wines began to overtake those of blended wines, Chardonnay emerged from minor importance to displace Chenin blanc and Colombard as the major white wine variety in California.  It has since proven to be adaptable to...

NATURAL LAWS AND VINEYARD MANAGEMENT

Vineyards are populations of grapevines and associated organisms supported by air, water, and soil resources.  As such, they constitute ecosystems or perhaps more precisely, agro-ecosystems.  While vineyard ecosystems are artificial, rather than natural, they are...