MSU To Host Wine Grape Establishment Conference

Posted by Christina Herrick|November 20, 2013

A wine grape establishment conference will be held on Jan. 21-22 by Michigan State University. The event will be a webinar-live workshop broadcast combination simultaneously at Michigan State University Research and Extension Center in Benton Harbor, MI, Northwest Michigan Horticultural Research Center in Traverse City, MI, and Tollgate Education Farm Center in Novi, MI.

The topics covered include marketing, site selection, varieties, establishment costs, planting stock, site preparation, planting and care, trellis construction, and pest management. There will be an optional informational pre-conference session to help new grape growers understand how the plant grows, pest management concepts, soil fertility, and terminology.

Presenters include Michigan State University (MSU) educators Duke Elsner, Diane Brown, Tom Zabadal, Stan Howell, Annemiek Schilder, Rufus Isaacs and Jodi Creasap Gee of Kent State University, Carl Rosen, University of Minnesota, Lee Lutes of Black Star Farms, Joe Fiola of the University of Maryland, Linda Jones of Michigan Grape & Wine Industry Council, Hans Walter-Peterson of Cornell University, Keith Striegler of the National Clean Plant Network.

The Wine Grape Establishment Conference is sponsored by Viticulture and Enology Science Technology Alliance (VESTA), and the MSU Product Center and the MSU Institute of Agriculture Technology.

For more information and to register, click here.