American Vineyard Foundation Receives 78 Grant Proposals
Napa, CA – The American Vineyard Foundation (AVF) has received 78 funding requests for projects ranging from mealybug control to microbiomics, and is now deliberating on how to allocate over $1 million in available research funds among these grant requests. The mission of the AVF is to raise funds that address grape and wine industry research priorities, helping keep American viticulture and enology on the forefront of the world of wine. Following comprehensive viticulture and enology surveys sent to over 3,000 industry members, the AVF identified the topics most important to the grape and winemaking community. Research proposals to address these topics were then solicited by the AVF. Each proposal received by the AVF was evaluated by an industry review committee in one of the following disciplines:
- Breeding and Genetics
- Cultural Practices
- Disease Management
- Enology
- Outreach and Education
- Pest Management.
The AVF relies on these six review panels to examine and evaluate the proposals and annual reports. Each of these committees is comprised of a diverse set of industry reviewers having technical expertise within each area. The AVF works cooperatively with the California Table Grape Commission, the California Grape Rootstock Improvement Commission, the California Grape Rootstock Research Foundation, the California Raisin Marketing Board, the California Competitive Grant Program for Research in Viticulture and Enology, the Viticulture Consortium Program for the Western Region, the California Winegrape Inspection Advisory Board, the Oregon Wine Board, and Washington State Grape & Wine Research to maximize the available research funds. Representatives from all of the named groups have been working together to streamline the research proposal submission and review process. Funding announcements will be made in May 2010.
“We are very pleased with this year’s level of industry support,” remarked AVF Chairman Jim Frisinger.
Because the AVF is typically able to fund 35-40%of the proposals submitted, the research review process is critical to ensure that we are funding the work that best meets industry needs and is most likely to produce applicable results. About the American Vineyard Foundation The American Vineyard Foundation (AVF) is a California corporation organized in 1978 by the American Society of Enology and Viticulture as a vehicle to raise funds for research in viticulture and enology. Basic and applied research has made the American grape and wine industry the world’s leader. The AVF provides a unique opportunity to unify the industry through an industry-wide research effort to maintain this progress. www.avf.org
