MONDAY, JUNE 9, 2025. BY STEPHANIE BOLTON, PhD, LODI WINEGRAPE COMMISSION.
Welcome to a Monday morning pick-me-up with five pieces of good news for California wine industry research.
1. The University of California Oakville Experiment Station (pictured above with the Lodi Grapevine Rootstock Research Focus Group and friends) will soon be brought back to life under the leadership of a new statewide Applied Viticulturist position.
The Oakville Experiment Station in Napa provides a hub for research and extension activities across California, and under the right leadership can be a thriving center for innovation and mentorship. The Applied Viticulturist position will be part of the University of California – Davis Department of Viticulture and Enology. Three top candidates were interviewed on campus and at the Experiment Station with industry present over the last two weeks.
2. Local research viticulturist and former UC Oakville alum Maria Zumkeller created a simple, free way for the Lodi AVA to track invasive, damaging Tree of Heaven infestations, spotted lanternfly inspections and removals.
With the iNaturalist app, citizen scientists can identify the Tree of Heaven and make a note when the trees are found, inspected and removed. Maria will share a regional map with the results at each month’s first Tuesday IPM meeting at Burgundy Hall in Lodi.
3. Four energetic canines plus their human handlers are now ready to hire for in-field vine mealybug and leafroll 3 virus detection in commercial vineyards following a successful proof-of-concept project.
Contact Lisa Finke with Canine Detection Services to learn more.
4. It’s a great year to be a barn owl, as shown by the 85+% occupancy rate tracked by Lauren Jackson of Cal Poly Humboldt’s Habitat Ecology lab led by Matt Johnson, PhD (a Lodi native!).
Lauren is monitoring 170 barn owl boxes via grower collaborations across Lodi, using GPS tracking to discover where the male owls (like Yarrow, pictured above) are hunting and she is also exploring the owl’s personalities as part of her master’s thesis research.
5. Our local youth are talented, excited and engaged – as demonstrated by a few of the MANY possible examples below. Way to go!
- Several Delta College plant science students joined their professor and Lodi growers for a tour of Patrick Sunbury’s incredible tea farm, Redwood Tea Estate, in Stockton (pictured above, photo by Tegan Passalacqua) to learn about the economies of scale, niche market creation, artisan agriculture, sustainable educational agritourism, beneficial insects and native species, edible landscaping – plus tea production and tasting.
- Emma Canepa of Lodi was awarded the 2025 Nuffield USA Farming Scholarship for California. For over 75 years, Nuffield International Farming Scholars has empowered agricultural leaders through global experiences, research and collaboration. Originally founded in the United Kingdom, Nuffield has expanded to 14 countries, shaping over 1,700 scholars who have gone on to drive innovation in farming, ranching and agri-business worldwide. Emma will investigate how artificial intelligence can enhance precision agriculture for her Nuffield research project.
- Arpa Boghozian, UC Davis Viticulture and Enology PhD student and my wonderful mentee through the Women in Wine program, was just awarded an American Wine Society Educational Foundation Scholarship. Arpa will present a poster on her red blotch virus research at next week’s American Society of Enology & Viticulture conference in Monterey and is exploring opportunities for a career in extension.
- The California Association of Winegrape Growers Foundation recently awarded 11 scholarships to these bright students whose parent or legal guardian is employed by a California winegrower: Karen Abarca Hernandez (Stockton), Daisy Avina Hernandez (Calistoga), Jonalyn Cadaoas (Delano), Fabiola Covarrubias (Kelseyville), Guadalupe Ibarra (Terra Bella), Mariano Jaime Duran (Geyserville), Bishin Mahil (Madera), Karitina Manual Rios (Santa Rosa), Kelsey Padilla Lara (Santa Rosa), Yasmin Santos Hernandez (Santa Maria) and Ella Senkowski (Windsor).
We hope these five pieces of good news help you start the week off right, with a smile! If you felt joy while reading this post, that is wonderful and a good sign. If you found yourself feeling grumpy or judgmental about this good news, you may want to re-read the farmer wellbeing post by Misty Oebel and attend tomorrow’s Modern Farmer Series workshop on Revising Your Farm’s Business Plan, which will offer several ideas for how to inject optimism and energy into the family farm.
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For more information on the wines of Lodi, visit the Lodi Winegrape Commission’s consumer website, lodiwine.com.
For more information on the LODI RULES Sustainable Winegrowing Program, visit lodigrowers.com/standards or lodirules.org.
