New Unified Symposium Program Chair Selected

The president of the Sonoma County Winegrape Commission, Nick Frey, has been named as the chair of the 2012 Unified Wine & Grape Symposium program development committee. The selection was made by the Unified Symposium’s LLC Managing Committee, representing the American Society for Enology and Viticulture (ASEV) and the California Association of Winegrape Growers (CAWG), who have co-hosted the Unified Symposium for the past 17 years. For 2012 the Unified Symposium will again take place at the Sacramento Convention Center, located in downtown Sacramento, January 24-26.

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“Nick brings proven leadership skills and a wealth of knowledge to the job of Program Development Committee chair,” said John Aguirre, president of CAWG. “He is well regarded within industry circles and has a strong grasp of the many issues and trends affecting wineries and growers.”

Assisting Frey in developing the 2012 program for the Unified Symposium will be more than 16 other leaders from the wine and grape industry, who will all work from now through the summer to combine topics and speakers for the Unified Symposium program sessions. Frey is currently the president of the Sonoma County Winegrape Commission. Prior to that, he was the executive director of the Sonoma County Grape Growers Association from 1999-2006.

“All our previous program chairs and committees have done an excellent job of creating past programs, so part of my job will be maintaining that high level and direction,” said Frey. “My other goal is to see that the Unified Symposium continues to offer information that is useful to all attendees.”

The first meeting for the group is planned for June. “During our first meeting we will flesh out any ‘hot topics’ and then build from there,” said Frey. “The program has to deliver important information to the industry both inside and outside California. And while I am not sure what issues might rise to the top at this point, we will be addressing as many as possible during the Unified Symposium.”

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Built with the joint input of growers, vintners, and allied industry members, the Unified Symposium serves as a clearinghouse of information important to wine and grape industry professionals. The Unified Symposium also hosts the industry’s largest trade show of its kind, with more than 600 vendors displaying their products and services. For additional information, call 530-753-1342 or on the Internet go to www.unifiedsymposium.org.

Another Sonoma County winegrape expert is also in the news these days, as Lucia Varela, University of California (UC) Cooperative Extension Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Advisor for the California North Coast received the 2011 Viticulture Award of Excellence from the Sonoma County Winegrape Commission (SCWC) at the group’s annual barbecue earlier this month. SCWC annually presents the Viticulture Award of Excellence to recognize individuals or families who have made significant contributions to SCWC, to Sonoma County viticulture, and the greater wine and local communities.

At UC Cooperative Extension for the past 20 years, Varela has been responsible for developing pest management programs for pome fruits (pears and apples) and winegrapes. She became interested in insects while becoming a beekeeper in her family’s farm in her native Uruguay. Varela earned a B.S. in Biochemistry from University of California Los Angeles and doctorate in entomology from University of California-Berkeley.

Varela, 58, is very interested and involved in the Sonoma County grape grower community. She has participated on the Sustainable Practices Committee of the Sonoma County Grape Growers Association/Winegrape Commission since 2000. The committee has developed the IPM Grower Appellation Meetings and the Employee Development Program for vineyard employees. Her input continues to help guide those programs. In addition Varela has been a regular teacher of pest and predator identification and IPM practices in the Employee Development Program and has shared her research results at numerous grower events in the county.

“It’s truly an honor to receive this award recognizing my work and our team at UC Cooperative Extension,” said Varela. “I love working with the farmers in Sonoma County and providing sustainable solutions to their pest problems.”

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