Extension and Outreach through UC Davis Viticulture and Enology On-the-Road Events. AVF Project #2025-1685.

AVF Proj. ID: 20251685 / /Cat.:
Primary Investigator(s): Dr. Karen Block, Director of Industry Relations, Department of Viticulture and Enology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616-8749, Email: klblock@ucdavis.edu, Phone: 530-752-5766. Dr. Ben Montpetit, Chair and Professor, Department of Viticulture and Enology University of California, Davis, CA 95616-8749, Email: benmontpetit@ucdavis.edu, Phone: 530-752-0381.by

Summary of Progress:

By the end of the 2024-2025 funding cycle, we completed three of the four On the Road (OTR) educational events originally proposed in the 2024 AVF Extension and Outreach proposal (Temecula, Sonoma, and Napa Counties).   We used NCE 2023-1685 to fund the program in Temecula in November 2024.

The first event was at Wilson Creek Winery in Temecula on November 20, 2024.  Speakers included Akif Eskalen, Tian Tian, David Block, Ron Runnebaum, Megan Bartlett and Axel Herrera.  There were approximately 100 attendees from both Riverside and San Diego Counties.  The topics covered ranged from the latest information on grapevine trunk diseases, powdery mildew and Botrytis bunch rot in vineyards, to how to sustainably clean and sanitize, irrigation management, vine nutrition and regenerative practices.  Greg Pennyroyal (Wilson Creek Winery), Carmen Gispert (Vit Advisor, Retired) and the Small Winegrowers Association were helpful partners for this event.  After the presentations, speakers discussed current issues and potential future research areas with attendees.

The second On the Road program was in Sonoma County (with help from Chris Chen, Integrated Systems Advisor Sonoma, Lake, and Mendocino Counties) at the Sonoma County Farm Bureau on March 19, 2025, and the third was in Napa County at the CIA Greystone in St. Helena on April 22, 2025 (with help from the Napa Valley Vintners (NVV) and Monica Cooper, Vit Advisor, Napa Cty).  In Sonoma, topics included:  Advancing the development of disease-resistant grapevine cultivars, timing ground cover management for reduction of three-cornered alfalfa hoppers in vineyards, grapevine trunk disease management, cleaning and sanitization, and native California yeast strains.  Speakers included: Luis Diaz Garcia, Cindy Kron, Marcelo Bustamante, David Block, Dario Cantu, Ben Montpetit, and James Campbell.  The Napa OTR speakers were  Monica Cooper, Hildegarde Heymann, Arran Rumbaugh, Ben Montpetit, and Ron Runnebaum.  Topics included: red blotch disease management, sensory evaluation with limited resources, strategies for smoke risk assessment, and site-specific winemaking. The OTR program scheduled for Stockton was canceled due to low enrollment.  We asked AVF for a no cost extension to use those funds to visit stakeholders (NCE 2024-1685) and listen.  Ben and Karen then visited with the Lodi Winegrape Commission; a group of growers, pest control advisors, vineyard managers, and winery owners at Lange Twins; traveled to Bakersfield to meet with table grape growers; to Paso Robles to meet with winemakers; and to Fresno to meet with the California Table Grape Commission.

We plan to complete four On the Road events in the 2025-26 grant cycle.  The first OTR program for the 2025-26 cycle was on December 10, 2025, in the Foothills at the Casino Mine Ranch Winery.  Speakers included: Chris Chen, Megan Bartlett, Mackenzie Patton, James Campbell, Ben Montpetit, and Ha Nguyen.  The second OTR program in the 2025-26 grant cycle is scheduled for February 25, 2026, in Paso Robles (confirmed speakers: Larry Bettiga, Luis Diaz Garcia, Ben Montpetit, David Block, Matt Fidelibus, and Cindy Kron).  The third program will be in Mendocino County at the Hopland REC on March 4, 2026, and the fourth OTR program is scheduled for March 11, 2026, at the Lodi Grape Festival Grounds.  We are presenting a fifth OTR program, sponsored by the NVV, at CIA/Copia on April 28, 2026

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