New York Grape Growers To Gather For Viticulture 2013

Viticulture 2013, presented by the New York Wine and Grape Foundation in cooperation with Cornell Cooperative Extension, takes place Feb. 6-8 at the Rochester Riverside Convention Center in Rochester, NY. The event is the premier grape and wine industry conference and trade show in the eastern U.S., with three full days of experts addressing the most important trends in viticulture, enology, marketing, public policy, and other topics. A special feature will focus on cold climate grape varieties by university scientists from the east and Midwest involved with the Northern Grapes Project funded by a major grant from USDA. Other highlights include:
• “Marketing to Millennials and Baby Boomers, and Social Media Update” — The young “Millennial” generation has been a hot topic and a focus of many wine marketers, given their fondness for wine and for experimentation in seeking out new things recommended by their friends, mostly via social media like Facebook. Who are these people, and how can wine marketers best attract their attention?
• “Succession Planning” — Grape growers and winery owners invest their dreams, effort, and money in their businesses, and many vineyards and wineries are family operations. So when the time comes for the older generation to step back and the younger family members to take ownership responsibilities, how do you ensure a smooth transition both financially and emotionally? This seminar provides answers along with real-life examples from wineries that have done it successfully.
• “Frost Protection Methods” — Long-term predictions of how the climate in the Northeast will change over the next few decades include the potential for more severe frost events, such as the one that many areas in the East and Midwest experienced in 2012. This session looks at some different methods that are being used by growers around the region to protect their crops from early spring frost injury.
• “Integrated Pest Management (IPM)” — IPM practices are crucial in the production of quality juice and wine in an economically and environmentally sustainable manner. This session combines updates on current research on the innovative management of summer and sour rots, phylloxera, and Japanese beetle as well as examining some new resources designed to provide growers the information they need to develop and implement a vineyard IPM strategy.

For more information on the event, go to vit2013.com.