Sustainable Winegrowing

"In North America, and the U.S. particularly, sustainability has grown from a nice-to-have to a key trigger for consumers," according to Food Business News. Welcome to Marketing Tip Monday with SIP Certified. We know customers are looking for wines labeled as sustainable. While our longer-form episodes help you learn about the latest science and research for the wine industry, these twice-monthly micro podcasts will help you share your dedication to sustainable winegrowing so you can show your customers that you share their values. Today we share three places where you can create a story narrative around your sustainable practices to drive sales. 1. Online Consumers are increasingly using the internet and social media to find and share their favorite brands. So, bolster up your website like these two brands. Castoro Cellars has a dedicated page on their website complete with a video showcasing their solar arrays, an image of their recent environmental award, and an explanation on what sustainable agriculture is. Another great example is the Farming for the Future blog post by Pisoni Vineyards. This article includes beautiful photography of their insectary, the tools they use to reduce water, and how they care for their team by providing competitive wages, health insurance, and excellent training. Your website is the perfect place to showcase the sustainable practices that you use. Talk with your farmer, winemaker, owner, and the whole team to gather up stories that are specific to your brand. Pair them with nice photography to give your customers a peek behind the scenes of your great wine. If you are SIP Certified, you can also include the logo on your website with a link to the SIP Certified website to encourage shoppers to learn more about your practices and the requirements for certification. 2. Off-Premise You can also showcase your sustainability off-premise. These channels include any place your wine can be seen outside of your winery or tasting room. With so many consumers purchasing from physical retail outlets and online stores, it's clear that promoting your message of sustainability on your physical product or at the store shelf is vital. Work with retailers to set up a sustainable wine section or to add shelf hangers with information on sustainability below your bottles. Of course, if you are SIP Certified you can include the logo on your wine label as well. Food and Beverage Insights reports third-party certification is increasingly important with consumers; "The idea of 'responsible consumerism' is growing as Americans are turning their dollars toward companies and brands that are backed by a commitment to bettering the planet for generations to come." 3. Staff Training Don't forget to train your team. Your customer-facing staff are the front lines for consumer education. Training them to speak about your sustainable actions is easy! We offer a free online training course that anyone can complete to brush up on all things sustainability. It even includes a fun quiz to test your knowledge. If you love these episodes, they are another great way for your team to learn about effective ways to incorporate the message of sustainability into everyday customer-facing conversations. If you did not know, we also offer these in a newsletter format so you can sign up to get marketing tips delivered right to your inbox twice a month. If you want to learn more about how storytelling can help you sell more wine, check out our interview with Kathy Kelley of Penn State University. She explains how understanding why people drink wine allows you to use their attitudes and behaviors to improve your marketing to keep your customers coming back. Check out the show notes for a link to the interview with Kathy Kelley, links to this article, research on consumer purchasing preferences, to download the seasons of sustainability PDF, and sign up for our biweekly Marketing Tips newsletter. Until next time, this is Sustainable Winegrowing with the Vineyard Team. References: **SIP Smart Training online course 161: Use Storytelling to Sell More Wine Cover crops make vineyards more sustainable; strategy can be marketing tool Kathy Kelley Identifying wine consumers interested in environmentally sustainable production practices Marketing Tips eNewsletter Penn State Extension Wine Business Management and Marketing Seasons of Sustainability SIP Certified What Sustainability Means to Consumers by Morning Consult Wine consumers' willingness to adopt environmentally friendly packaging practices at tasting rooms: An ECHAID analysis

Understanding why people drink wine allows you to use their attitudes and behaviors to improve your marketing to keep your customers coming back. This research is exactly what Kathy Kelley, Professor of Horticultural Marketing and Retail Business Management at Penn State University loves to do. In her studies, she has found that sustainability is very important to customers however it can mean different things to different people. While 7 out of 10 adults in the United States consider purchasing food and beverage with a sustainability component a priority, one-fourth of these respondents could not articulate sustainability. This gives the industry a great opportunity to better communicate what sustainability means. Communicating sustainability should be incorporated into a brand's DNA from point A to point B through all marketing channels including face-to-face, social media, print, and website. Storytelling is a great way to convey your brand values because consumers are more likely to remember stories. By describing specific practices and why they are important, you set yourself apart from the competition and create an emotional connection with your consumers. Kathy's research on sharing cover cropping practices found that customers were willing to pay one to four dollars more per bottle after learning about the specific sustainable practices. Listen in for more tips on how to determine your customer demographic and refine your marketing. References: Cover crops make vineyards more sustainable; strategy can be a marketing tool Kathy Kelley Identifying wine consumers interested in environmentally sustainable production practices Penn State Extension Wine Business Management and Marketing SIP Certified Vineyard Team – Become a Member What Sustainability Means to Consumers by Morning Consult Wine consumers' willingness to adopt environmentally friendly packaging practices at tasting rooms: An ECHAID analysis Get More Subscribe wherever you listen so you never miss an episode on the latest science and research with the Sustainable Winegrowing Podcast. Since 1994, Vineyard Team has been your resource for workshops and field demonstrations, research, and events dedicated to the stewardship of our natural resources. Learn more at www.vineyardteam.org. Transcript Craig Macmillan 0:00 I'm your host, Craig Macmillan and with us today is Kathy Kelly. She is professor of horticultural marketing and retail business management at Penn State University. Kathy, thanks for being here. Kathy Kelley 0:08 Thank you very much. I appreciate the invitation. Craig Macmillan 0:11 Tell us a little bit about the work that you do and where your kind of research interests lie. Kathy Kelley 0:15 So I've been a faculty member at Penn State since 2001. And I have a teaching extension research appointment, all three of my aspects deal with some sort of marketing component. And my research, I really became very interested in learning about why people drink wine, how to kind of use those attitudes and behaviors to help smaller producers, medium sizeed wineries, focusing on the consumer and use that to their their benefit. So I've really kind of done a bit of research in the mid Atlantic area to understand why we buy and then what type of product characteristics and tasting room components really make that an experience for consumers that the want to come back again and again to the facility. Craig Macmillan 0:58 That is super interesting. So based on consumer research, how much do consumers care about the origins of the products they consume in terms of sustainability. Kathy Kelley 1:06 So sustainability is very important to consumers and more so with the younger generation, then maybe generations that are a little bit more mature. But sustainability can mean quite a few things to many different people. Sustainability not only refers to the environment, but to the social, and the economic sustainability pieces of that three piece stool, but within one economic sustainability. One person may consider sustainability and include organic or certified organic foods, and another may not. So there is an interest in say sustainability. But there's some confusion as to what it really means. Talking with the students in my class, who are Gen Z's young millennials, you know, they really are interested in sustainability. But like the consumers at large, they might not be able to articulate it. We also have this component where consumers are not really that knowledgeable or a portion of consumers not really that knowledgeable about how their food is grown. So when you put the two together, you can see that the confusion grows even more. In Pennsylvania, for example, because of our excessive rain and humidity, it may not be possible for us to grow grapes organically. But we can use other certain types of sustainable measures, like cover crops to control weeds, and use other production methods to control diseases. Or we could use lighter weight glass bot

Understanding why people drink wine allows you to use their attitudes and behaviors to improve your marketing to keep your customers coming back. Welcome to Marketing Tip Monday with SIP Certified. We know customers are looking for wines labeled as sustainable. While our longer-form episodes help you learn about the latest science and research for the wine industry, these twice-monthly micro podcasts will help you share your dedication to sustainable winegrowing so you can show your customers that you share their values. Today we bring you a sneak peek into next week's full-length episode to share the marketing strategy you're not using. Defining consumer purchasing behavior is exactly what Kathy Kelley, Professor of Horticultural Marketing and Retail Business Management at Penn State University loves to do. In her studies, she has found that sustainability is very important to customers however it can mean different things to different people. While 7 out of 10 adults in the United States consider purchasing food and beverage with a sustainability component a priority, one-fourth of these respondents could not articulate sustainability. This gives the industry a great opportunity to better communicate what sustainability means. Communicating sustainability should be incorporated into a brand's DNA from point A to point B through all marketing channels including face-to -face, social media, print, and website. Storytelling is a great way to convey your brand values because consumers are more likely to remember stories. By describing specific practices and why they are important, you set yourself apart from the competition and create an emotional connection with your consumers. Kathy's research on sharing cover cropping practices found that customers were willing to pay one to four dollars more per bottle after learning about the specific sustainable practices. The Seasons of Sustainability: Winter Here are some great practices you can share with your consumers to tell that block-to-bottle story. Use these activities to create blog posts, social content, and tasting room talking points. It's this type of content that captivates and educates. Here are some sustainable practices SIP Certified brands do during the winter: Plant cover crops to prevent erosion, help rain penetrate, and provide natural fertilizer. Spread compost to release fertilizer and inoculate the soil with beneficial microorganisms. Prevent erosion with straw or hay bales. Compare water bills and look for increases or anomalies. Taste and top tanks and barrels, update post-fermentation analysis, and regularly monitor Free SO2 and Volatile Acidity levels. Schedule bottling and begin blending trials. Tune in on December 15 to hear the whole interview and get more tips on how to determine your customer demographic and refine your marketing. Check out the show notes for links to this article, research on consumer purchasing preferences, to download the seasons of sustainability PDF, and sign up for our biweekly Marketing Tips newsletter. Until next time, this is Sustainable Winegrowing with the Vineyard Team. References: **SIP Smart Training online course Marketing Tips eNewsletter Cover crops make vineyards more sustainable; strategy can be marketing tool Kathy Kelley Identifying wine consumers interested in environmentally sustainable production practices Penn State Extension Wine Business Management and Marketing Seasons of Sustainability SIP Certified What Sustainability Means to Consumers by Morning Consult Wine consumers' willingness to adopt environmentally friendly packaging practices at tasting rooms: An ECHAID analysis

Now in its eighth year, the California Green Medal Sustainable Winegrowing Leadership Awards provide recognition to vineyards and wineries that are leaders in implementing the Three E's of sustainability (environment, economic and social equity). Welcome to Sustainable Winegrowing with the Vineyard Team where we bring you the latest in science and research for the wine industry. I'm Beth Vukmanic, Executive Director at Vineyard Team, steering committee member and judge for the California Green Medal Awards. Applications are open now through January 30, 2023. As a listener to this podcast, you could be a perfect candidate to receive recognition for your good work. The Green Medal Awards inspire others in the industry and highlight the benefits of participating in a sustainability program. It's a great opportunity to showcase the amazing commitment many California growers and vintners have made to protecting the environment and enhancing the communities in which they live and work. We're proud to count a number of SIP Certified members among the winners including Jackson Family Wines, Monterey Pacific, Inc., Pisoni Family Vineyards, Sheid Family Wines, and Trinchero Family Estates. We wanted to highlight last year's winner of the Leader Award, Wente Vineyards in Livermore. So, our host, Craig Macmillan, Critical Resource Manager at Niner Wine Estates, with a long-time SIP Certified vineyard and the first ever SIP Certified winery, took a few minutes to talk with Nikki Wente. If you attended our Sustainable Ag Expo in November, you had a chance to hear from Nikki about their use of autonomous and electric vehicles. In this interview, she talks about their no-till system, use of sheep in the vineyards, oak forest land, electric tractors, and balancing capital investments. Listen in to hear her number one piece of advice for sustainable winegrowers. You can apply for the Environment, Community, or Business awards and also the Leader award by going to greenmedal.org. Check out the show notes for a link, to read about previous winners and to learn more about Nikki. Until next time, this is Sustainable Winegrowing with the Vineyard Team. References: California Green Medal Award | Apply California Green Medal Award | Winners SIP Certified California Greene Medal Award Winners Wente Vineyards

Under vine cover crops can both improve soil health and control vine vigor. Justine Vanden Heuvel, Professor and Chair of the Horticulture Section School of Integrative Plant Science at Cornell University and Michela Centinari Associate Professor of Viticulture at the Department of Plant Science at Penn State University have trialed different cover crops to find the best plants for vineyards. By adding a cover crop under the vine, growers can impact the size of the vine by stopping vegetative growth at version. Ground cover has additional benefits on the soil including decreasing the impact of water drops, improved water infiltration, increased carbon, soil aggregate stability, and microbial activity. Listen in to learn which cover crops are best to improve the overall sustainability of a vineyard. References: 25: Under-Vine Cover Crops (podcast) Floor Management for Soil Health | Dr. Craig Macmillan Hans Walter-Peterson Webpage Justine Vanden Heuvel Website Justine Vanden Houvel's Twitter Justine Vanden Heuvel's YouTube playlist Michela Centinari's Penn State Extension webpage Michela Centinari's Twitter SIP Certified The Centinari Lab at Penn State Under-Vine Vegetation Mitigates the Impacts of Excessive Precipitation in Vineyards Vineyard Team – Become a Member Get More Subscribe wherever you listen so you never miss an episode on the latest science and research with the Sustainable Winegrowing Podcast. Since 1994, Vineyard Team has been your resource for workshops and field demonstrations, research, and events dedicated to the stewardship of our natural resources. Learn more at www.vineyardteam.org. Transcript Craig Macmillan 0:00 Today our guests are Justine Vanden Houvel from Cornell University and Michela Centinari from Penn State University. And we're going to talk about some really exciting work they've been doing around the topic of under vine vegetation. Thank you both for being here. Justine Vanden Houvel 0:14 Thanks, Craig. Craig Macmillan 0:16 Tell us a little bit first of all about what under vine vegetation kind of is, to me that sounds like weeds coming from California. To me, that means weeds and it's gotta go. Your work is looking at some maybe some benefits of it and things that might help in the eastern United States at least, can you tell me kind of what the basic definitions of these things are? Michela Centinari 0:33 I understand why you think you know, that the under vine vegetation should go because I'm from Italy. And also we don't like to see weeds. Cover crops grown under the vines, because it's a dry, you know, hot warm climate. Is a little different for us here in the eastern United States and the Northeast US, because we have a very different weather conditions, you know, it's more or less humid, wet, and we have fertile soil. So cover crops are weeds, even weeds growing under the under the vine can actually be beneficial for the vine and for the soil. And this is because our vines can be overly vigorous, because it's, you know, it's humid is wet, and the soil is fertile. And this competition provided by the cover crops to the vine for water and nutrients can actually decrease the amount of vigor of the vines. So that is seen as a positive traits in our region, at least some of the sites in our region. Justine Vanden Houvel 1:31 I agree with what Michela said, and sometimes they are weeds. Sometimes they're specific species that we're we're cultivating. From a management perspective, it really doesn't make any sense in some of these eastern vineyards, not all of them, but in some of them to have this bare strip under the vines because we have to go through and hedge the top of the canopy two, three times in a growing season, we have to go through and do leaf removal once or twice in a growing season. You know, we're spending a lot of money in the industry, here on the East trying to manage the vigor of the vines. And those are Band Aid solutions, right, they don't really help fix the situation. Whereas providing that competition that Michela was referring to, can make a big difference in terms of reducing the available water and nutrients that the vine can take up. Craig Macmillan 2:19 What kind of species of plants are we talking about here? You know, a weed is a plant at a place. Mint is often a weed but also if I have it in a container, and it's next to my front door, and I like to have my food and it's not a weed. What kind of plants are you talking about? Justine Vanden Houvel 2:32 Yeah, we've been working with quite a few different plants. So some different grasses, buckwheat, chicory rosette forming turnip. We are having a problem with a lot of the brassicas though and that the groundhogs like to eat them, so we're kind of steering away from those ones a little bit. But we've worked with a wide variety of species and looked at you know, do we see a big impact on Vine size, small impact on Vine size, or no impact on Vine size, because we need to make sure we dial it in

Over the past two weeks, we've looked at studies showing that people everywhere have been making more sustainable purchases, and how they are doing this by seeking out products with eco-certifications -- and wine is no exception! The wine market is steadily growing, and the majority of sales come from retail outlets. This is why putting the SIP Certified seal on your bottle is the best way to be sure your wine isn't being overlooked when shoppers are out looking for sustainable wines. Welcome to Marketing Tip Monday with SIP Certified. We know customers are looking for wines labeled as sustainable. While our longer-form episodes help you learn about the latest science and research for the wine industry, these twice-monthly micro podcasts will help you share your dedication to sustainable winegrowing so you can show your customers that you share their values. Today we share why our member get certified. When wine enthusiasts see the SIP Certified seal on your bottle, they know they are looking at a wine that was made with conscious care for the people and the planet. But don't take it from us -- here's what fellow SIP Certified members have to say about certifying their wines: Sincerity, Vetting, & Media Coverage! From consumers to employees, and from vineyards to media, Adam LaZarre, Director of Winemaking at Wine Hooligans, tells us that the rigid requirements for attaining SIP Certified wine have been well worth the time and dedication: "For us, having our wines SIP Certified is easily the best way to let our entire audience know we are sincere about doing the right thing for the health of our vineyards, customers, and employees. The requirements for certification are pretty rigid but are easily obtained provided you maintain some detailed record-keeping. That is an important aspect actually because it ensures that the third-party inspector can vet the entire process completely. I know for a fact that this is a HUGE selling point for our wines and it also gives the media an extra topic of discussion that they and their audience can sink their teeth into. For us, it's been an extra paragraph or two in the magazines or another five minutes on the radio. It's clearly one of the biggest bangs for your buck and for many of our clients, just as important as the quality and price of what's in the bottle." Sharing Common Goals "The three pillars of the SIP Certified Model lays the foundation of our winery's values and drives our commitment to sustainability. By having our wines SIP Certified, our consumers are actively supporting a system of winegrowing that is done with conscious care for the planet. It is extremely beneficial to us to share this common goal with our consumers and continue to make wines with people, the planet, and prosperity in mind." - Fred Delivert, Winemaker, Tolosa Winery Fred adds that their tracking software, Vintrace, makes the process "very easy." All of the block-to-bottle documentation required for the audit process can be pulled from major tracking systems, meaning that if you are using winemaking tracking software, you likely already have all of the necessary records on file! The Legitimacy of Well-Respected Third-Party Organizations "We choose to have our wines certified because of the legitimacy of well-respected third-party organizations like SIP Certified. Designating our wines as sustainable brings a cache with it that the consumer finds really valuable." - Tamara Bingham, Brand Manager, Cambria Estate Winery Tamara notes that their auditor is helpful in guiding her and the winemaking team through the certification process, and that the process is painless and easy! Get in on these benefits! If you're making your wine with SIP Certified grapes, your brand can experience these benefits, as well! Any wine made with at least 85% SIP Certified fruit -- estate or purchased -- can bear the SIP Certified seal. All you need to do is complete a Wine Application (page 35 of the Information Package) and send it to a Wine Inspector. The inspection is all done remotely via email exchange of chain of custody documentation. Inspections range from 1 to 5 hours depending on the number of wines on the application. Fees range from $100-$175 per hour and are paid directly to your inspector. Certification rates are on an annual production basis and can be viewed here. Visit our Get Certified: Wine page to read more about wine certification, and email mailto:[email protected] ?subject=SIP Certified Wines if you have any questions. Check out the show notes for links to this article, research on consumer purchasing preferences, a link to get your wines certified, and sign up for our biweekly Marketing Tips newsletter. Until next time, this is Sustainable Winegrowing with the Vineyard Team. References: **SIP Smart Training online course Is Wine Certification Worth It? Is your wine being overlooked? Marketing Tips eNewsletter SIP Certified SIP Certify your Wines

Vineyard Team's Juan Nevarez Memorial Scholarship provides multi-year, higher education investments in the children of vineyard and winery workers on California's Central Coast based on academic excellence, financial need, and community involvement. The majority of awardees are first-generation college students. This funding supports students and their families in achieving their dreams of successful graduation from a trade, or two- or four-year school to pursue a professional career. Vineyard Team's Executive Director, Beth Vukmanic, and milti-year scholarship recipient and Assistant Grower Relations Representative at Justin Winery, Evelyn Alvarez Mendoza talk about how the scholarship impacted her education and career trajectory through not only financial aide but industry connections. Evelyn gives her advice on how to succeed in college to new students and Beth shares how to apply for funding. First-generation students have more barriers when it comes to attaining higher education – they cannot ask their parents how to navigate the system, budgets are often tight, and they can feel guilty for leaving their families. As a community, we can band together to better the future of the next generation. Multi-year recipient Alberto Gonzales says, "I am proud of breaking the cycle and being the change in my family as the first generation to go to college." You can give the gift of higher education to students like Evelyn and Alberto this GivingTuesday. Our goal is to raise $75,000 by November 29, 2022. You'll be doing more than just donating — your kindness will make it possible for working families to send their children to two-year colleges, four-year universities, and trade schools. References: Donate to the scholarship – help us raise $75,000 by November 29, 2022 Evelyn Alvarez Mendoza – check-ins throughout her college career From the Crops to the Classroom – a story about Esteban Garcia Juan Nevarez Memorial Scholarship Meet three recipients of the Juan Nevarez Memorial Scholarship (video) Newsletter SIP Certified "The biggest inheritance that I'm going to leave you…" Get More Subscribe wherever you listen so you never miss an episode on the latest science and research with the Sustainable Winegrowing Podcast. Since 1994, Vineyard Team has been your resource for workshops and field demonstrations, research, and events dedicated to the stewardship of our natural resources. Learn more at www.vineyardteam.org. Transcript Craig Macmillan 0:00 And today our guests are Beth Vukmanic, she's executive director of vineyard team and Evelyn Alvarez Mendoza. She is assistant grower relations representative with Justin Winery. Today we're going to talk about the Juan Nevarez Memorial Scholarship. Beth, would you tell us a little bit about how that came about? What it is what it does, and that kind of thing with the background is? Beth Vukmanic 0:22 I would love to, but one of ours Memorial Scholarship is to benefit the children of vineyard and winery workers. For anybody who has been a fan of this podcast. You know, we talk about sustainable winegrowing. And a lot of the times that focuses on the planet part of it. So we're talking about soils and pests and irrigation, but people are our most valuable resource. And this scholarship program is a way for us to give back to the people who helped us make a wonderful industry. Craig Macmillan 0:50 Who was Juan Nevarez? Beth Vukmanic 0:52 Juan Nevarez was a winegrower, who started out in the Paso Robles area, he moved here to the United States as a teenager, I believe he was just 16 years old. He didn't speak any English. And he just learned everything from the ground up. He was a very, I guess you'd probably call it a gritty soul, he would always put in the time and effort to try to teach himself. So if somebody was putting in irrigation lines, he would go over and ask them questions. Or if somebody was planting vines, he would go in and ask questions about why they made that choice. And he over time really developed a successful management company called Nevarez Farm Labor, he helped establish a lot of notable vineyards, including Justin in the Paso Robles area of California. And then he actually developed his own vineyard property, too. And he unfortunately passed away a couple of years ago. And something that was really special about Juan is that he held that he was a self made man, he dreamed of higher education for his own children, his daughter, Mia said that their dad had just one require from them that they had to go to college. And his thought with that was that he felt like he had to work really hard to prove who he was and what he knew. And that an education would help his children get that foot in the door, so that they could more easily build a better lives for themselves. And so that's why we named the scholarship after him to honor that memory of somebody who really supported higher education and valued it, and wanted it for the next generation. Craig Macmill

Most wine shoppers purchase from retail outlets, whether online or in person. This means that the majority of your wine sales probably aren't coming from your tasting room or even your winery's website, where you have a controlled platform from which to deliver the message of your brand's sustainability. With the search for sustainable goods on the rise, you need a way to let wine enthusiasts know about the sustainability of your wine when you can't be there to tell them. Welcome to Marketing Tip Monday with SIP Certified. We know customers are looking for wines labeled as sustainable. While our longer-form episodes help you learn about the latest science and research for the wine industry, these twice-monthly micro podcasts will help you share your dedication to sustainable winegrowing so you can show your customers that you share their values. Today we talk about how you can help your customers find your sustainable wine. Can your wine be identified as sustainable? Wine Intelligence and Full Glass Research conducted consumer and trade research on perceptions of sustainable winegrowing, certification, and practices. Here are five exciting insights from their research: Consumers seek easy ways to find and identify sustainable wine, like clear and simple visual cues. "Clear and highly visible labeling" on wine packages, back label information, and tastings or seminars were seen by the trade as the most useful in supporting the purchase of sustainable wines. While winery websites and tasting events are more effective at communicating wine sustainability, wine labels and peer recommendations are the most frequently used sources for identifying sustainable wines Sustainably produced wine has the highest future purchase consideration: 71% of U.S. wine drinkers say that they would consider buying sustainably produced wine in the future. Among US wine consumers, $3 was the average extra value consumers indicated they were "willing to pay" for a sustainably produced wine. Can consumers and the trade easily identify your wine as sustainable? Data shows it: people buy sustainable products The market is driven by consumer demand. The 2021 Sustainable Market Share Index found that sustainability-marked products were responsible for a third of the growth in consumer packaged goods from 2015 to 2021, and market share growth continues year over year. Randi Kronthal-Sacco, Senior Scholar at the NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business states that their research "demonstrates the perceived consumer demand is realized by purchasing data, and growing." Simon-Kutcher & Partners' 2021 Global Sustainability Study shows that 63% of consumers have made modest to significant shifts toward being more sustainable in the past five years. Purchasing behavior is a major player in these shifts, and 50% of consumers rank sustainability as a top 5 value driver across categories. It's clear: consumers are looking for and purchasing sustainable products! Are you marketing your sustainable wine as such? Don't let your wine be overlooked! If you're producing wines made with sustainably grown grapes, putting the SIP Certified seal on your bottle is the best way to let it be known and increase sales with sustainably-minded consumers. Any wine made with at least 85% SIP Certified fruit -- estate or purchased -- can bear the SIP Certified seal. All you need to do is complete a Wine Application (page 35 of the Information Package) and send it to a Wine Inspector. The inspection is all done remotely via email exchange of chain of custody documentation. Inspections range from 1 to 5 hours depending on the number of wines on the application. Fees range from $100-$175 per hour and are paid directly to your inspector. Certification rates are on an annual production basis and can be viewed here. Visit our Get Certified: Wine page to read more about wine certification, and email [email protected] if you have any questions. Check out the show notes for links to this article, all the studies referenced, our previous Marketing Tip "Is Wine Certification Worth It?, and to sign up for our biweekly Marketing Tips newsletter. Until next time, this is Sustainable Winegrowing with the Vineyard Team. References: **SIP Smart Training online course Is Wine Certification Worth It? Marketing Tips eNewsletter SIP Certified SIP Certify your Wines

As a vineyard advisor across the United States, Fritz Westover, Viticulturist at Westover Vineyard Advising and host of the Virtual Viticulture Academy, has the opportunity to see a lot of different vineyards, varieties, diseases and climates. Much of his work in recent years is in Texas. This large state about the size of France has a number of challenges including rain that is not seasonal, Pierces Disease, late spring and fall freezes, hail, and poor water quality. Fritz and Craig, both former staffers with Vineyard Team, discuss a variety of practices that impact the long-term sustainability of a vineyard including leaching salts, why irrigation systems are important in wet climates, and the number one way to manage disease. References: 110: How to Develop a New Vineyard Site 121: Regenerative Agriculture (Rebroadcast) 137: The Pierce's Disease and Glassy-winged Sharpshooter Board Instagram @westoverviticulture SIP Certified Sustainable Ag Expo November 14-16, 2022 | Use code PODCAST for $50 off Twitter @WestoverVit Vineyard Underground Podcast Virtual Viticulture Academy Westover Vineyard Advising Get More Subscribe wherever you listen so you never miss an episode on the latest science and research with the Sustainable Winegrowing Podcast. Since 1994, Vineyard Team has been your resource for workshops and field demonstrations, research, and events dedicated to the stewardship of our natural resources. Learn more at www.vineyardteam.org. Transcript Craig Macmillan 0:00 Our guest today is Fritz Westover viticulturist with Westover Vineyard Advising and the virtual viticulture Academy. Is that right? Fritz Westover 0:10 That's correct, Craig. Craig Macmillan 0:11 He's got some other things in the in the works that we'll maybe talk about a little bit later. Fritz and I have known eachother for a long time. And actually, we had the same job Fritz Westover 0:19 That we did that we did that we did. Craig Macmillan 0:21 He is based in Texas, lives in Houston. But he works in all parts of the country. You're you're all over the place. What different states do you work in in these days? Fritz Westover 0:30 Yeah, Craig, thanks, again, for having me on the Sustainable Winegrowing Podcast, love to be here. Actually, it's my second time. So this is really an honor to get to get invited back. I didn't screw it up too bad the first time. So I appreciate that. You know, to answer your question, I work primarily in Texas, that's where I'm currently office in Houston. Got a great airport. So I do go to other parts of the country. The second largest area working would be Georgia, primarily in the north mountains of the state of Georgia, I also do some consulting a little bit in some of the states in between Louisiana, Alabama, and some virtual advising that I've started doing, where I'm actually, you know, on site to see the site to understand it, but I'm not there on a frequent visitation basis, like I am, in, let's say, Texas, or Georgia. So those are the primary areas I'm working. And they have a lot of things that overlap. And they have a lot of differences. So the cool part is I get to see a lot of different scenarios, varieties, climate and challenges. Craig Macmillan 1:26 So let's, let's start with Texas, obviously, we're very interested in sustainability, and sustainable approaches to problems, roadblocks, obstacles, issues, and every region that I'm familiar with anywhere, they have different sustainability issues and hurdles, you know, you say like, oh, here, we're doing this in a sustainable way to do it. And these other people, people are like ah that't not going to work for us. So they're trying to find a different way. So in the case of Texas, which I understand is now not just the hill country, it's quite a broad spectrum of climates and soils and whatnot. What are some of the challenges that Texas growers and these different regions are facing? Fritz Westover 2:03 Yeah, great question. And, you know, if you look at Texas, it's a state roughly the size of France. So there's a lot of different growing regions in Texas, anywhere from the Gulf Coast region to which is you know, the eastern part of North Texas. Closer to Oklahoma, there's grapes grown that far north and Texas to hill country, which is outside of Austin, Fredericksburg, San Antonio, that's probably where the majority of wineries are, and also a large concentration of vineyards. And then the majority by far of grapes grown in Texas are grown on the High Plains region, which is West Texas, or northwest on the High Plains. That's about 3000 to 4000 feet above sea level. So we have a lot large range and climate and topography and rainfall. I mean, we can get 40 inches in East Texas a year and 10 inches in West Texas a year. And we haven't had that much unless Texas this year, there's been a drought that's affected growers, Craig Macmillan 2:58 How much of that rain is during the growing season? Fritz Westover 3:00 Okay, so in Texas, the rain can com

The number of winery businesses has grown, on average, 4.5% each year for the past five years, with over 7600 wineries currently operating in 2022. Among the dizzying sea of wine options, having a certification differentiates your brand! Welcome to Marketing Tip Monday with SIP Certified. We know customers are looking for wines labeled as sustainable. While our longer-form episodes help you learn about the latest science and research for the wine industry, these twice-monthly micro podcasts will help you share your dedication to sustainable winegrowing so you can show your customers that you share their values. Today we look at how adding a certification logo to your label can increase your wine sales. When wine shoppers pick your bottle from the shelf and see a certification logo like SIP Certified, they can feel good knowing that they are supporting a system of winegrowing that is done with conscious care for the people and the planet. Consumers are looking for Sustainability In terms of where consumers believe sustainability is the most important, unsurprisingly, it's the industries that are part of their everyday lives -- especially products as opposed to services. According to Morning Consult's 2022 Sustainability Report: What Sustainability Means to Consumers, when asked about the importance of sustainability in a variety of industries, over 80% of respondents said it's important in the food and beverage industry. If you are a SIP Certified wine brand, you fit the ticket! Since you're doing all of the hard work to become certified you can easily take the next step to put the logo on your bottle. Why Certify Your Wines? If you're going through the process to certify your vineyard or are sourcing sustainable grapes, you may wonder why you should take the time to add the logo to the label and certify your wines. The answer is simple: consumers seek easy ways to find and identify sustainable wine. Wine labels are one of the most frequently used sources for identifying sustainable wines -- which makes sense! Unless a consumer knows where you source your fruit or that the vineyard named on your wine label is sustainable, how else would they be able to know that your wine was produced with sustainably grown grapes? Putting a certification logo on your bottle is the best way to ensure your product can easily be identified as sustainable by consumers when you aren't there to tell them. Are you eligible to use the sip certified logo on your label? Any wine made with at least 85% SIP Certified fruit -- estate or purchased -- can bear the SIP Certified seal. All you need to do is complete a Wine Application and send it to a Wine Inspector. The inspection is all done remotely via email exchange of chain of custody documentation. Visit our Get Certified: Wine page to read more about wine certification, and email [email protected] if you have any questions. Check out the show notes for links to this article and all of the consumer research resources mentioned and to sign up for our biweekly Marketing Tips newsletter. Until next time, this is Sustainable Winegrowing with the Vineyard Team. References: **SIP Smart Training online course Is Wine Certification Worth It? Marketing Tips eNewsletter SIP Certified SIP Certify Your Wines

Think most nematodes are parasitic? Actually, the majority are beneficial and can provide biological control for bacteria, fungi and other nematodes. Deborah Neher, Professor in the Department of Plant and Soil Science at the University of Vermont explains that the name nematode in Latin means roundworm. But do not confuse these worms with the common earthworm. They have a very simple anatomy that is purely dedicated to eating and reproduction. The microscopic, aquatic organisms live in water films that surround soil particles. Nematodes are the most numerous soil-dwelling animal and can live in extreme conditions. Listen in to learn how nematodes fit into a healthy soil system. References: 28: Understanding Soil Health (podcast) 72: Soil Microbes and Nutrient Availability (podcast) Ecology of Plant and Free-Living Nematodes in Natural and Agricultural Soil Neher Lab Neher Lab Publications Perspectives article that covers history and approach to soil health with research agenda to soil health: Resilient soils for resilient farms: An integrative approach to assess, promote and value soil health for small- and medium-size farms. Role of Nematodes in Soil Health and Their Use as Indicators SIP Certified Soil Builders Module 3d: Compost for Soil Function and Disease Suppression, 9 December 2021. Invited Webinar Presentation (podcast) Soil community composition and ecosystem processes: Comparing agricultural ecosystems with natural ecosystems Sustainable Ag Expo November 14-16, 2022 | Use code PODCAST for $50 off The soil symphony. Interview by Leah Kelleher, 8 August 2020 (podcast) Get More Subscribe wherever you listen so you never miss an episode on the latest science and research with the Sustainable Winegrowing Podcast. Since 1994, Vineyard Team has been your resource for workshops and field demonstrations, research, and events dedicated to the stewardship of our natural resources. Learn more at www.vineyardteam.org. Transcript Craig Macmillan 0:00 And with me today is Dr. Deborah Neher. She's a professor at University of Vermont and has done some really, really interesting work on soil health in particular, micro organisms and what role they play. And so today we're gonna talk about nematodes. I'm excited. Deborah Neher 0:15 Yeah, it's great to be here. nematodes get me excited too. Been working on it for like 30 years now, believe it or not. Craig Macmillan 0:22 I believe it. First of all, let's drop back a second. And we're talking about healthy soil soil health, the role that these organisms play in that. What is your definition of a healthy soil, I think that's kind of a tough thing. Deborah Neher 0:33 Sure. And I know everybody has a slightly different version. But just to keep it really short and succinct, it needs to be porous, it needs to be chemically balanced, as well as containing organic matter. Let me just elaborate on those briefly. We need a range of pore sizes in soil to help give it good structure and that also allows for a balance of water and oxygen, so that the plants and the microbes can live and have air to breathe. We need a chemically balanced both the nutrients as well as a pH. And as far as organic matter it plays a number of different roles. It can hold moisture and nutrients kind of like a sponge. And that's also where we have the biological activity happening. And organic matter has negative charges on its surface the nutrients have positive charges so they can attract you know like magnets with opposite charges. You know, organic amendments usually come with microbes as well as nutrients so they're bringing the life into soil and supporting that. Craig Macmillan 1:31 And speaking of life, that's what a lot of your work has been the the soil microbiome plays a huge role and how that functions obviously and different organisms have different roles. So we have bacteria, fungi, we have protozoa, we have nematodes, am I leaving anybody out I don't want to leave anybody out. Deborah Neher 1:49 Micro arthropods is another big one like mites is another one. Craig Macmillan 1:53 Oh, yeah, that's right. When we do we don't talk about that much at least in my experience is the nematode part of it. What exactly is a nematode? First of all. Deborah Neher 2:01 So the term nematode might be a bit foreign, it is a Latin word. If we translate it into English, it means round worm. And they are different than earthworms. They are different taxonomic phyla, so very different. One thing you will notice when you look at a nematode is it moves very differently than an earthworm. It has kind of a snake like S shaped movement, and that's because it only has longitudinal muscles, so it's not very coordinated. Nematodes are the most numerous of all soil dwelling animals. There's a great quote about how abundant they are. This quote is by a famous nematologist about 100 years ago, his name was Nathan Cobb, and he said, nematodes are so numerous that if you were to zap the earth, and just leave the nemato

Soil is alive and we want a lot of life in the soil. According to Deborah Neher, Professor in the Department of Plant and Soil Science at the University of Vermont, healthy soils have three components. These are a range of different pore sizes to help with structure as well as balance water and air; balanced pH and nutrients; and organic matter to hold moisture and nutrients as well as provider microbes. Soil structure is created by mineral particles, bacteria, fungi, and plant roots. What determines a good quality soil depends on the ecosystem – a forest has different needs than active farmland. Bacteria and fungi are the life forms most associated with soil health. Some tests show the number of fungi and bacteria and their ratio to one another. However, they are not showing what is in the soil and there is still limited research on what these fungi and bacteria are doing. Often bacteria are associated with negative health factors. But there are many good bacteria that promote plant growth by producing nutrients or making nutrients more available. Others provide biological control. And others convert nitrogen in concert with legumes. Fungi can also be good and bad. Their structure is like linking pipes so they connect plants. This can help cope with drought conditions by pulling water from faraway sources. Deborah also touches on how to properly compost to kill off pathogens and weed seeds. Through research, she found that the process is more complicated than knowing the nitrogen to carbon ratio – the type of carbon matters! Her lab tried the same nitrogen to carbon compost "recipe" in three different production methods: windrow, aerobic static piles (ASP), vermicomposting. Each final product had completely different fungal and bacterial communities. Listen in to learn what kind of carbon is best for disease suppression. References: 28: Understanding Soil Health (podcast) 72: Soil Microbes and Nutrient Availability (podcast) Changes in Bacterial and Fungal Communities across Compost Recipes, Preparation Methods, and Composting Times Managing Nitrogen in the Vineyard and the Winery Efficiently Neher Lab Neher Lab Publications Perspectives article that covers history and approach to soil health with research agenda to soil health: Resilient soils for resilient farms: An integrative approach to assess, promote and value soil health for small- and medium-size farms. SIP Certified Soil Builders Module 3d: Compost for Soil Function and Disease Suppression, 9 December 2021. Invited Webinar Presentation (podcast) Soil community composition and ecosystem processes: Comparing agricultural ecosystems with natural ecosystems Sustainable Ag Expo November 14-16, 2022 | Use code PODCAST for $50 off The Compost Handbook The soil symphony. Interview by Leah Kelleher, 8 August 2020 (podcast) Get More Subscribe wherever you listen so you never miss an episode on the latest science and research with the Sustainable Winegrowing Podcast. Since 1994, Vineyard Team has been your resource for workshops and field demonstrations, research, and events dedicated to the stewardship of our natural resources. Learn more at www.vineyardteam.org. Transcript Craig Macmillan 0:00 I'm your host, Greg McMillan and our guest today is Dr. Deborah Neher. She's a professor in the Department of Plant soil science, the University of Vermont. And today we're going to talk about soil health. Welcome to the podcast. Deborah Neher 0:10 Thank you. It's a pleasure to be here. Craig Macmillan 0:13 Before we get rolling, I understand you grew up on a farm, you have some background in agriculture. Deborah Neher 0:16 I do. I grew up as a fourth generation family farm in Northwest Kansas, where we grew wheat and sorghum and had some livestock. And as far as my educational background, I have formal education in environmental science, as well as plant ecology. And I did my PhD at UC Davis in plant pathology. Since then, I've kind of merged to the ecology and the agriculture and I consider myself a soil ecologist. So my area is biology, but I work in soil. Craig Macmillan 0:44 That's awesome. Because there's a lot of life in the soil. And we're about talking about everybody's interested in healthy soils. We have government programs now about topic. We have conferences, we have articles, we have books, but this is one of my favorite questions. When I talk to people about this topic I started with, what is your definition of a healthy soil? Deborah Neher 1:03 That's a great question. And I know there's a number of definitions that are out there. But as a biologist, I want to first emphasize that soil is alive, and that we want a lot of life in the soil. A healthy soil would be one that's porous, that we have a number of, you know, range of different pore sizes, which give the soil structure and this also helps balance air in the water and soil. We need a chemically balanced soil, one that's valid for pH as well as nutrients in the soil. And then we need the biologi

With over 250 members in our SIP Certified program for sustainable winegrowing, it's no surprise that there are many tried and true methods for keeping staff informed and up to date on matters of sustainability. For this last Marketing Tip in the Train Your Staff series, we talked to a few of our members about how they make sustainability a familiar and comfortable topic among their sales and hospitality staff. Welcome to Marketing Tip Monday with SIP Certified. We know customers are looking for wines labeled as sustainable. While our longer-form episodes help you learn about the latest science and research for the wine industry, these twice-monthly micro podcasts will help you share your dedication to sustainable winegrowing so you can show your customers that you share their values. Today we share three ways our members keep their team up to date on their sustainable practices so that you can use these methods at your winery. The Key at Jackson Family Wines Jackson Family Wines supplies its staff with Trade Sustainability Resources through an online platform. Staff can use this site to view photos from the properties that document specific sustainable practices, study aesthetically pleasing and descriptive infographics, and go through PowerPoint presentations that summarize sustainability initiatives at specific properties. There are also charts of the brands' certified sustainable wines, a variety of sustainable-themed POS materials, and documents with statements, stats, and goals pertaining to the company's dedication to sustainability. A JFW Sustainability Stats table shows an annual comparison of various sustainability metrics, including gallons of water used per gallon of wine produced, kilowatt-hours of solar energy produced per year, percentage of winery energy offset by solar, and more. Each metric is also given a summary explanation below, so their staff knows exactly what the data means and how progress is measured. Take Home: Using a platform to house your brand-specific sustainability information provides staff on-demand access to current and chronicled sustainability initiatives, and is a great way to educate your staff on current sustainable practices as well as what sustainability means in the context of your company's identity. Maverick Farming Bridges the Gap Jim Stollberg, owner of Maverick Farming, consistently updates the staff at the many properties he manages. He bridges the gap that sometimes exists between the vineyard and the tasting room by attending staff meetings and talking with the staff. Here, he shares what is currently underway and upcoming in the vineyard, and answers any questions tasting staff may have. Plus, Jim is only a phone call away. If the staff person has a client with a question they do not know to answer to, Jim is there to assist. This access not only increases staff's awareness of what is happening outside their windows but also provides them with plenty of sustainable conversation material to use while conducting tastings! Jim also sends monthly emails to tasting rooms that provide a summary of what's going on at the property, and what to expect in the coming weeks. He tells his clients what the Maverick team is observing in the vines and fruit, as well as what projects they are finishing up, working on, and planning to start. Take Home: Email updates from your vineyard manager are easy to access, share, and refer back to when you're looking for current topics to focus on while conducting staff meetings or tastings. Inviting your vineyard manager to your tasting room staff meeting provides an opportunity for staff to learn about what is happening in the vineyard directly from the source! Face to Face at Niner Wine Estates Anyone familiar with Niner Wine Estates knows that sustainability is at the heart of everything they do, from the vineyard to the winery, and from the garden to the kitchen! Craig Macmillan, Critical Resource Manager, is communicative with his staff on a regular basis: Craig takes the opportunity at regular tasting room staff pre-shift meetings to present topics, give updates, and address recent questions staff may have received from customers. The pre-shift meeting conversations ensure staff go into their shift prepared to engage with their clients with the latest information from management. The importance of each individual staff member's knowledge can't be understated. That's why Craig takes the time to pass through the tasting room to talk briefly one-on-one with members of his staff to make them aware of what's going on, and give them the opportunity to ask him questions -- a method that has received positive responses from his staff! Afterhours events are a great opportunity to build a sense of togetherness within your company. At Niner, staff gets together every couple of months for a family meal and educational conversation about what sustainability is and why it is important, and to discuss the practical aspects of implementing p

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi, known as AMF, has an interesting an important relationship with plants, grapevines included. AMF helps vines take up mineral nutrients, creates a layer of protection from pathogens by occupying plant cells, and seems to improve soil structure and water movement. In turn, grapevines supply carbohydrates to the fungus. Scientists believe the pant calculates the value of giving carbon in exchange for nutrients provided by the AMF. Tian Tian, Viticulture Farm Advisor, Cooperative Extension Kern County, UC Cooperative Extension studies this super host relationship between grapevines and AMF to determine how farmers can cultivate this natural alliance. She also covers how different Nitrogen applications impact wine flavor. A winemaker can create tropical notes or clean flavors in Chardonnay through soil, foliar or winery applications of Nitrogen. References: 28: Understanding Soil Health 72: Soil Microbes and Nutrient Availability Appropriate Time to Measure Leaf and Stem Water Potential (Abstract only) Dr. Tian Tian, Cooperative Extension Kern County Impact of Nitrogen Fertilizer or Nitrogen Wine Additions on Productivity and Sensory Outcomes (Abstract only) Managing Nitrogen in the Vineyard and the Winery Efficiently SIP Certified Sustainable Ag Expo November 14-16, 2022 | Use code PODCAST for $50 off The Effect of Soil Nitrogen Enrichment on Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (Video) Get More Subscribe wherever you listen so you never miss an episode on the latest science and research with the Sustainable Winegrowing Podcast. Since 1994, Vineyard Team has been your resource for workshops and field demonstrations, research, and events dedicated to the stewardship of our natural resources. Learn more at www.vineyardteam.org. Transcript Craig Macmillan 0:00 Today is Dr. Tian Tian Viticultural Farm Advisor with Corporate Extension, Kern County, part of the UC Corporate Extension system. Dr. Tian, thank you for being with us today. Dr Tian Tian 0:11 Thanks for having me. Craig Macmillan 0:12 Can you tell us a little bit what's your role as a Viticulture Farm Advisor? That's a term that we hear but we don't always know kind of what it means. Dr Tian Tian 0:19 My title is a Viticulture Farm Advisor. So there's a three components involved in my job extension, research and education. So a lot of times what we do is we help growers to solve problems, through farm calls and to find better solutions for their problems through a research project. And if they are something, knowledge have been obtained through research or other sources, we communicate with growers and to inform them the availability of those knowledge. And the meanwhile, education is occurred during this process. Specifically for Kern County, this is a big area for grape production. So 60% of the grape in the county are table grapes, and close to 30% are wine grapes, and 10% is a rasin grapes. The nature of my work, I work close with table grape growers, then to help them to solve the production issues they may have. And they're teaching me a lot of things along the way. Craig Macmillan 1:20 I'm sure. I'm sure. So you have a role directly with farmers. Dr Tian Tian 1:25 Yeah, yeah, it's way, a lot of times we find those research questions in the vineyard and a grower call us to say, for example, last year, was it delayed, the spring grows, a lot of them are observed. Stunted growth, and they're just wondering what's happened. And then that is actually as a start off me to look into what it is the reasons lead to the problem. And next year, what can we do better. And then, early this year, when we have our annual meeting and a rower come and they just say, Okay, now we know how there's some practice we can use to avoid the problem again, and how to adjust our practice based on the weather we got in certain years. And what other things we should taking, taking consideration when making management practices. All of those has been a really beneficial for both sides. I learned a lot from them, and then they actually benefited from the extension work were doing. Craig Macmillan 2:25 That's really great. And I'm glad that that exists. And I'm glad you're on the job there in Kern. And prior to that you have done a lot of research in the area of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. And also in terms of the effects of nitrogen, either as fertilizer or natural uptake, into vines and impacts on buying productivity and also on wine quality and all of that. Mycorrhizal fungi are something that a lot of us hear about. We're aware of. We know they're important. It's part of the soil biome, but I think a lot of us can use at least a refresher course. What exactly are arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi? What is the role that they play in the soil microbiome? Dr Tian Tian 3:05 That's a really good question. Actually. I feel arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi is probably a one group of the fungus were no more than a lot of other groups. The reason for that is arbuscular m

People today are growing increasingly environmentally conscious. WWF commissioned global research by Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) in 2021 (An Eco Awakening) that found that searches for sustainable goods have increased globally by 71% since 2016. If you're not telling consumers that your business is run sustainably, now's the time to start! Welcome to Marketing Tip Monday with SIP Certified. We know customers are looking for wines labeled as sustainable. While our longer-form episodes help you learn about the latest science and research for the wine industry, these twice-monthly micro podcasts will help you share your dedication to sustainable winegrowing so you can show your customers that you share their values. Today we explore the research that shows that demand for sustainability is soaring. Whether we're talking about food and beverages, household cleaning products, or beauty and pet products, those with eco-certifications have been experiencing increased sales over the past several years. Sheila Bonini, senior vice president of private sector engagement at WWF US states: "Sustainable and planet-friendly products used to be a niche market. Today, that's no longer the case. The research backs up what we've seen anecdotally over the years -- demand is there." Shifting Values A 2021 NielsenIQ report points out that the pandemic significantly impacted consumer behavior. As the topic of health and well-being was brought front and center by this global health crisis, concern for local communities and the planet as a whole became a central theme in our daily lives. The report shows that consumers have been shifting toward eco-friendly products and companies that share the same value of caring for the health and well-being of our human and non-human resources. Let Consumers Know You Care! How can consumers know your wine is produced sustainably if you don't tell them? A team of Penn State researchers suggests that when it comes to sustainable wines, promoting sustainable production methods in marketing efforts may increase consumer willingness to pay more for their wine. Here are a few ways to promote your sustainable efforts: Train your consumer-facing staff on how to talk about sustainability. Share your sustainable practices on your website, social media, and marketing materials. Put the SIP Certified logo on your bottle! Wine Intelligence US SOLA 2021 states that "consumers most strongly associate sustainable wine with protecting the environment and rely on official sustainability endorsement for reassurance." Learn How to Talk SIP! We have lots of great resources to help you talk about sustainability from buzz words to SIP Certified 101. Plus, play a game of Jeopardy with your team to make learning about sustainability fun. Sustainability in Action Training Events Want to learn how to talk about sustainability with your customers? If you are on California's Central Coast we have three events coming up this fall. Come to an upcoming training. McIntyre Vineyards Sept. 7 | 9:00 am - 10:00 am Niner Wine Estates Sept. 21 | 9:30 am - 10:30 am Check out the show notes for links to this article, PDF downloads to help you talk about sustainability with your customers, an educational game of Jeopardy, and sign up for our biweekly Marketing Tips newsletter. Until next time, this is Sustainable Winegrowing with the Vineyard Team. References: Marketing Tips eNewsletter Share SIP 101 With Your Customers: SIP Certified 101 Understanding the Fundamentals SIP Buzzwords for Your Consumer-Facing Staff: SIP Buzzwords SIP Certified Jeopardy SIP Certified Program Overview Presentation SIP Certified SIP Smart Training online course Sustainability in Action Events | Register (August and September 2022) Tailor Your Message to Fit Your Consumer: Generational Analysis Report Highlights Talk to Your Customers About Your Sustainable Practices: Answering Customers' Top Questions Tools to Teach Your Team About Sustainability

Does your team understand what sustainable winegrowing is? Can they talk with your clientele about sustainability? We have made a great online course that will help anyone learn the basics of sustainability and the SIP Certified Program! And, do not worry, you do not need to be in the SIP Certified program to take advantage of this class and it only takes about 30 minutes. Welcome to Marketing Tip Monday with SIP Certified. We know customers are looking for wines labeled as sustainable. While our longer-form episodes help you learn about the latest science and research for the wine industry, these twice-monthly micro podcasts will help you share your dedication to sustainable winegrowing so you can show your customers that you share their values. Today we help you and your team talk about sustainability with your customers. Here's what's covered: What is SIP Certified? The SIP Smart course starts with a quick background on Vineyard Team's Sustainability in Practice (SIP) Certified program. This introduction will set the foundation for your team's understanding of what your certification represents. Experience The 3 Ps of Sustainability The SIP Certified Standards cover nearly 200 practices that protect the people and the planet. How do the hundreds of SIP Certified members implement these practices at their unique properties? In this part of the SIP Smart course, we interview six SIP Certified members to find out! Scheid Vineyards wanted to ensure their community had a place to get together and engage in community activity. Greg Gonzalez tells us about how they had part of their vineyard removed and transformed into a soccer complex for the community. The subject of water conservation is huge in agriculture! Steve McIntyre of Monterey Pacific gives a quick lesson on moisture monitoring practices to determine when and how much to irrigate winegrape vines. Have you ever seen a falconer at work? Here's your chance! In this video interview, Jake Messenger shows us how one man and one falcon can safely and humanely move thousands of starlings off vineyard properties. Wondering about how sustainable vines are managed to produce high-quality grapes? Mark Pisoni takes a truly curated approach to each individual vine at Pisoni Vineyards to decide what nutrients, pest management, and farming practices to use to ensure each plant grows the highest quality grapes. Reducing global warming emissions is a goal of every sustainable business. Samantha Aguilar shows us solar panels at Cambria Estate Winery that are used to provide, store, and introduce energy back into the grid. Now that we know how each individual vine is assessed, Mark Pisoni comes back to talk about the big picture of sustainable farming! Pisoni Vineyards' conservation plan looks at the entire ranch as a whole unit -- not just the areas under cultivation. Consumer Research Studies continue to show that consumers are seeking sustainable, ethically produced goods and services more than ever before. In this part of the SIP Smart course, your team can learn about recent research projects that gave us insights into how to help increase consumer awareness of sustainable wines. Are you talking about your sustainable efforts? Get Your Certificate! The SIP Smart course concludes with a brief quiz that will help test your team's new SIP Certified knowledge. Everyone who passes gets a certificate to show that they truly are SIP Smart! Why Stop Here? We have lots of great resources to help you talk about sustainability from buzz words to SIP Certified 101. Plus, play a game of Jeopardy with your team to make learning about sustainability fun. Sustainability in Action Training Events Want to learn how to talk about sustainability with your customers? If you are on California's Central Coast we have three events coming up this fall. Come to an upcoming training. Niner Wine Estates Sept. 21 | 9:30 am - 10:30 am Check out the show notes for links to this article, PDF downloads to help you talk about sustainability with your customers, an educational game of Jeopardy, and sign up for our biweekly Marketing Tips newsletter. Until next time, this is Sustainable Winegrowing with the Vineyard Team. References: **SIP Smart Training online course Marketing Tips eNewsletter Research Shows Soaring Demand for Sustainable Share SIP 101 With Your Customers: SIP Certified 101 Understanding the Fundamentals SIP Buzzwords for Your Consumer-Facing Staff: SIP Buzzwords SIP Certified Jeopardy SIP Certified Program Overview Presentation SIP Certified Sustainability in Action Events | Register (August and September 2022) Tailor Your Message to Fit Your Consumer: Generational Analysis Report Highlights Talk to Your Customers About Your Sustainable Practices: Answering Customers' Top Questions Tools to Teach Your Team About Sustainability

There has been a big surge in wine consumption on a macro level in recent years. California production is down due to both the removal of acres and climate challenges. Because national production cannot keep up with demand, imports have increased. Dr. Christopher Thornberg, Founding Partner at Beacon Economics and Director of UC Riverside Center for Economic Forecasting looks at big picture economic themes in the wine industry. From differentiation with sustainability, to an economic perspective on pricing water use, to the need for regional marketing efforts. Collaborating with the industry, local partners, and government can bolster the success for all people coming together to make great wines. References: 83: Sustainability: An Advantage in any Market (Podcast) Beacon Economics California and U.S. Wine Production (Wine Institute) Central Coast Economic Forecast Christopher Thornberg's Biography Eco-Certifications Increase Sales Economic Impact of California Wine (Wine Institute) SIP Certified Sustainable Ag Expo November 14-16, 2022 | Use code PODCAST for $50 off UC Riverside Center for Economic Forecasting & Development Get More Subscribe wherever you listen so you never miss an episode on the latest science and research with the Sustainable Winegrowing Podcast. Since 1994, Vineyard Team has been your resource for workshops and field demonstrations, research, and events dedicated to the stewardship of our natural resources. Learn more at www.vineyardteam.org. Transcript Craig Macmillan 0:00 My guest today is Dr. Christopher Thornberg. He is a founding partner of Beacon Economics and he's the director of the UC Riverside Center for Economic Forecasting. Dr. Thornberg, thank you for being with us. Dr. Christopher Thornberg 0:11 Great to be here. Craig Macmillan 0:12 You are an economic forecaster, macro economic forecaster. And you have a lot of experience in all kinds of things. This is a wine show, obviously, wine and grapes. How do you see the role of wine in the bigger kind of economic picture in the United States? Unknown Speaker 0:29 Yes, you know, is interesting. I'm a macro economist, I'm based here in California, I spend a lot of my time talking about big things, interest rates, inflation, consumer spending. But at the same time as a California based guy is a guy who's done lots of talks in wine country, I've also become relatively cognizant, shall we say, of the ebbs and flows of Ag and the wine economy in general, right here. In California. Obviously, when you think about places like Sonoma or Napa, it's incredibly important part of not only local production, but local tourism. And as such, you always have to walk, you know, sort of watch what's happening in these spaces in these industries. Now, of course, when you think about California wine, when you think about US wine, from a macro perspective, there are two things that are happening simultaneously over the last couple of years. The first thing has happened is another big surge in wine consumption, you think about the history of wine, we saw big gains and consumption in the early part of the century, it plateaued for a number of years. And all of a sudden, over the last few years, yet again, wine consumption on a per person basis is going up, people are buying good wine. So we know from a consumption standpoint, demand is strong. The other interesting part of this, of course has to do with the fact that California wine production is down. It's down, in part because of the removal of some acreage. But it's also of course down because we've had not exactly the best weather over the last couple of years. And so you do have this interesting situation whereby California production has not been able to keep up with, if you will, national demand. One of the results of that, of course, has been an enormous surge of imports into the United States. So so times are good from an external standpoint, but obviously producers here in the state are facing some substantial headwinds, whether we're talking about land, whether climate labor, and of course, the real question is, is how does this thing shake out? Where does this thing hit? Craig Macmillan 2:25 That's what everybody's wondering, you know, the investment in vineyards and wineries is substantial. Everybody wants one I've discovered in my consulting career, everybody wants to get in not always such a great idea that takes a lot of capital. And it takes a long time. Many wineries are losing money for 10 years or more before you even get close to breaking even depending on the product and the place. I have had many conversations about well, what can we do to kind of protect us, you know, what can we do to kind of, you know, get it get ahead of imports? What can we do to make our product special? So that can we be protected from some of this? And I would love to know your thoughts on how can a producer of a good like wine or wine grapes goes into wine? What things can they do to try to gain a bigger

The warm summer months attract tourists and locals alike to the beautiful wineries and tasting rooms of popular winegrowing regions. With this predictable increase in consumer traffic in mind, it's a good idea to educate your consumer-facing staff about your sustainable practices so they are prepared to share your brand's values with new and returning patrons while serving up your latest creations. Welcome to Marketing Tip Monday with SIP Certified. We know customers are looking for wines labeled as sustainable. While our longer-form episodes help you learn about the latest science and research for the wine industry, these twice-monthly micro podcasts will help you share your dedication to sustainable winegrowing so you can show your customers that you share their values. Today we bring your tools to teach your team about sustainability. Why talk about sustainability? Training your staff to talk about your brand's value of sustainability is just as important as training them to talk about your wine selection. Consumers today are becoming more interested in companies and products that protect the health of the planet and the people who inhabit it, and are even willing to pay more for a product that has a certification to back up these claims! It's clear that sustainability sells, and plain and simple, you can't sell something you know nothing about. Having staff that is well educated and prepared to answer your customers' questions will also help to uphold your brand's good reputation. Customer service can make or break a winetasting experience. If your customer-facing staff is educated and prepared to engage in conversation with your customers, there is a greater chance of garnering positive reviews, earning return customers, and attracting new ones through word-of-mouth. Let's go over a few good topics for your consumer-facing staff to become familiar with in order to increase their confidence in talking about your brand's sustainability efforts. Get comfortable with the sustainability (SIP) Buzzwords If you've been around for a while, you're probably already familiar with our 6 SIP Buzzwords for Your Consumer-Facing Staff. In case you haven't or if you're new to the world of SIP Certified, here's a recap: The 3 P's People: practices protecting human resources and employee well-being Planet: stewardship of natural resources and the environment Prosperity: a solid business plan with long-term goals, and dedication to ensuring future generations are protected through all business practices Always Evolving SIP Certified standards and members' business practices improve as new science, technology, and research becomes available Sound Business Practices The company employs ethical practices that treat employees and the community with care and respect Continuing Education Company staff strive to stay up to date with the latest laws and regulations, as well as science, technology, and research Integrated Pest Management Using beneficial insects, raptors, and plant-enriching cover crops to mitigate pests and other harmful organisms Wildlife Corridors Providing safe passage for wildlife through vineyards in order to not compromise their natural habitat Print the Infographic below to post in your staff area, or send it directly to your customer-facing staff so they can familiarize themselves with the terms! Talk about your specific sustainability practices When consumers see evidence of sustainable practices such as solar panels, owl boxes, grazing animals, and cover crops, they may ask their tasting room attendant what these are all about. We encourage you to create educational material for your staff that is specific to your brand and your practices so they are prepared to give accurate and descriptive explanations. Stay tuned for our upcoming Marketing Tip where we'll give examples of how other SIP Certified brands educate their staff! SIP Certified or sustainability vs Organic One of the most common questions we get when we visit tasting rooms for a training is "what is the difference between SIP Certified and Organic?" Simply put, organic certification addresses farming methods. According to USDA.gov, these include "soil quality, animal raising practices, pest and weed control, and use of additives," as well as the prohibition of "artificial preservatives, colors, or flavors." SIP Certified takes a holistic approach to winegrowing. In addition to addressing soil conservation, habitat preservation, integrated pest management, and water quality, brands that are SIP Certified sustainable extend their practices to other realms of business including social equity, water conservation, and quality, energy conservation and efficiency, pollution and waste, and business management, to name a few. You will find a number of SIP Certified vineyards that are also certified Organic or incorporate organic farming methods. (The complete 2022 SIP Certified Standards can be read here.) The Owl Postcard is a great visual represent

As researchers were creating a training procedure to identify smoke tainted wines, they made a breakthrough discovery that links a class of sulfur-containing compounds called thiophenols to the undesirable ashy flavors found in impacted grapes. Elizabeth Tomasino, Associate Professor, Department of Food Science and Technology at Oregon State University explains that early research believed that the culprit for smoke taint was phenols with an alcohol group. But just adding volatile phenols to untainted wines did not produce the undesirable BBQ flavors. Research is still young but this discovery could help researchers come up with more effective mitigation strategies. References: 143: Can Barrier Sprays Protect Against Smoke Taint in Wine? (Podcast) Australian Wine Research Institute Smoke Taint webpage Elizabeth Tomasino Grower-Winery Contracts and Communications about Smoke Exposure to Oregon's 2020 Wine Grape Harvest Key Information on Smoke Effect in Grapes and Wine: What can be done to identify and reduce smoke effect in grape and wine production? (Western Australia Agriculture Authority) "Oregon State researchers discover compounds contributing to smoke taint in wine and grapes" (Press release) SIP Certified Sustainable Ag Expo November 14-16, 2022 | Use code PODCAST for $50 off Techniques for Mitigating the Effects of Smoke Taint While Maintaining Quality in Wine Production: A Review (Academic article) Get More Subscribe wherever you listen so you never miss an episode on the latest science and research with the Sustainable Winegrowing Podcast. Since 1994, Vineyard Team has been your resource for workshops and field demonstrations, research, and events dedicated to the stewardship of our natural resources. Learn more at www.vineyardteam.org. Transcript Craig Macmillan 0:00 My guest today is Elizabeth Tomasino. She is an associate professor in the Department of Food Science and Technology at Oregon State University. Elizabeth, thanks for taking time to speak with us today. Elizabeth Tomasino 0:12 Well, thank you for having me. It's it's been a little crazy with conferences are back in person this year. So I'm actually at the Institute of Food Technology Conference in Chicago right now. Craig Macmillan 0:23 Well, thanks for taking the time. Elizabeth Tomasino 0:25 Oh, it's fun and lots of interesting information to talk about. Craig Macmillan 0:29 The reason we asked you to be on the show is you and your colleagues to make kind of an interesting and possibly really amazing discovery regarding smoke impact on grapes and how that translated into Smoke taint in wines. First just so everyone is on the same page, what's the very simple definition what is smoke taint? Elizabeth Tomasino 0:46 Smoke taint is essentially if there is a wildfire, lots of smoke in the air, that smoke gets into the vineyard, when there are grapes on the vine, the grapes can absorb the smoke compounds that smell like smoke. They then get sort of bound up in the grapes. So you don't you can't taste anything, but they're there. And then during winemaking, they're released. So all of a sudden, you can get a very smoky, ashy aftertaste in your wine. And if it's strong enough, it can be very negative for quality. Craig Macmillan 1:15 And when are the grapes most vulnerable? Elizabeth Tomasino 1:17 So this, is this is up for debate a bit generally it is thought after verasion. But some varieties might be different. There is some research going into this that some varieties might be susceptible earlier, and others may be more susceptible later during the year. Craig Macmillan 1:33 There's been a lot of activity going on globally, Australia's done a ton of work. And we've got a lot of work going on on the west coast. It's really exciting to see the collaborative work between the different states and the different university systems addressing this problem. Obviously, a couple of years ago, it was devastating in Northern California. And we also had issues along the central coast here, which led us to wonder what was going on because people in San Luis County were affected by smoke from Monterey County. So it was traveling a long way, that really, really makes everybody extra nervous. Your work recently has identified a new class of compounds associated with smoke impact that correct? Elizabeth Tomasino 2:11 Yes, we've been looking for it for a while. So some of my speciality in research and wine research is figuring out the compositional elements that cause specific sensory. So smells, tastes, wine has got hundreds and hundreds of compounds. So it's not as easy as saying, oh, one, one thing equals one smell. It's not that simple. And as you said before, the Australians have done a great amount of work over the years looking at these phenols that are found in smoke. But if you take a wine that's not smoke tainted, and you add high concentrations of those phenols to the wine, it doesn't taste like smoke taint, which means those are not the compo

Your brand's website is an excellent hub for consumers to find your brand's core information, such as your address, hours of operation, menu, shop, history, and awards. But what can you to do connect with your loyal supporters in their daily lives? Regularly post on social media, of course! Welcome to Marketing Tip Monday with SIP Certified. We know customers are looking for wines labeled as sustainable. While our longer-form episodes help you learn about the latest science and research for the wine industry, these twice-monthly micro podcasts will help you share your dedication to sustainable winegrowing so you can show your customers that you share their values. Today we help you use choose the right message for the social media platform you are using. There are various social media platforms and each is suitable for different types of content. To wrap up our Marketing Tips social media series, let's talk about a few different social media channels and how you can tailor your content to align with what users are looking for. Facebook According to Statista 2022, in January of this year, this social media platform ranked #1 as the most popular based on monthly users - and understandably so! Facebook is known for fostering connections (and reconnections) with people and communities. Here are two features your wine brand can use to satisfy users' quest for connection: Events The Events feature of Facebook offers users an easy way to find out what's happening in their community, or plan an itinerary for their next vacation. Your brand is truly missing out if you're not utilizing this feature for your events. In addition to providing important details, a Facebook Event page has a couple of features that hone in on our social nature: potential attendees can check out who else might be there by looking at the "Attending" list, and can use the "Go With Friends" feature to easily organize a posse of friends and family. Bonus tips: tag your food and music/entertainment services, and post photos of the venue. These details will help individuals to paint a more complete picture of what to expect - it allows them to more easily place themselves in the scene. Groups Who else feels overwhelmed with their personal email inbox? The neverending stream of emails can incline many of us to quickly "trash" our way through our personal email inbox just to relieve the pressure. This means there's a chance your wine club emails aren't even being opened! Now, how often do you find yourself scrolling through Facebook to pass the time? While email newsletters certainly are useful for sending informative and promotional messages to your wine club, a Facebook Group made specifically for your dedicated members might yield more views. In addition to the latest wine club news, a Group also provides members a sense of community through the opportunity to post content of their own to the group page and interact with others who belong to the group. Instagram Statista 2022 places Instagram as the #4 most popular social media platform. Many users seek content on Instagram to explore their hobbies and interests. Successful Instagram content has high visual appeal and meets our desires for either entertainment, information, or socialization (in case you missed it, check out these 5 social media marketing tips every wine brand needs to know). Here are five content ideas for your next Instagram post: Share a behind-the-scenes look into what's going on at your site to help followers feel connected to your brand on a level that goes deeper than the grocery store shelf. Use carousel posts to showcase before-and-afters, step-by-step processes, panoramic scenery, and "photo dumps" from recent events. Post a teaser for upcoming events or new product releases to give your followers something to keep their eye out for. Share and repost the content you're tagged in to build connections with your supporters. Don't be afraid to toot your own horn by posting testimonials and reviews from satisfied customers. These offer invaluable social proof and can be stockpiled to provide content during times when you just don't know what to post. Bonus tip: you only get one link on your Instagram bio, but you can use a Link in Bio tool to offer easy access to multiple web pages! Use your post caption to guide followers to visit your Link in Bio to your website's shop, a blog post, an event page, or a contest page. YouTube According to Hootsuite Global State of Digital 2022, YouTube ranked #2 as the most-visited website for all of 2021. If you have the time to create longer videos, your brand could benefit from sharing more in-depth content with your audience. The entire 300-page report of all things digital can be viewed by visiting the link above, but we'll just talk video content here (page 54 of the report). Of the 10 top-ranking content types, ones that you can easily create from the position of a wine brand include: * Percentages indicate the weekly social media con

"When smoke impact in the vineyard is great enough to impact the fruit and causes inferior wine, then we start calling it smoke taint." explains Anita Oberholster, Professor Cooperative Extension Enology in the Department of Viticulture and Enology at the University of California, Davis. During a wildfire event, the lignin in vegetation is broken down, releasing volatile phenols. While there are naturally occurring phenols in grapes, this release causes an excess which can impact the final product. Some tainted wines smell like camp fire, smoky, BBQ, and even bacon. New research shows there is an aftertaste, an aroma you perceive in the back of your throat, that creates that ash tray character. Fruity aromas natural to some varieties can mask smoky aromas quite well. While green aromas like green pepper bring out the undesirable smoky traits. Some varieties may stand up to smoke taint better than others but there has not been a definitive research project on this yet due to the complexity of the testing process. Barrier spray research is still in its infancy. Early testing shows that barrier sprays need to be used preventatively. One trial showed a slight impact that could make a positive difference in a light smoke taint situation. The additional challenge with sprays is that they need to be washed off which uses a lot of water. Listen in for Anita's number one tip for growers. References: Anita Oberholster, UC Davis Viticulture and Enology Webpage Key Information on Smoke Effect in Grapes and Wine: What can be done to identify and reduce smoke effect in grape and wine production? (Western Australia Agriculture Authority) Grower-Winery Contracts and Communications about Smoke Exposure to Oregon's 2020 Wine Grape Harvest SIP Certified Step-by-Step: How to do small scale fermentations Sustainable Ag Expo November 14-16, 2022 | Use code PODCAST for $50 off The Australian Research Institute Smoke Taint Resources Get More Subscribe wherever you listen so you never miss an episode on the latest science and research with the Sustainable Winegrowing Podcast. Since 1994, Vineyard Team has been your resource for workshops and field demonstrations, research, and events dedicated to the stewardship of our natural resources. Learn more at www.vineyardteam.org. Transcript Craig Macmillan 0:00 And with me today is Dr. Anita Oberholster . She is Professor of Cooperative Extension, enology in the department of Viticulture and Enology, UC Davis. And today we're gonna talk about smoke taint. Welcome to the show. Anita Oberholster 0:11 Thank you. Thank you for having me. Craig Macmillan 0:13 This is a problem that has gotten a lot of attention in the last few years in California, I think a lot of us was surprised to find out it's been a topic of conversation in Australia for much longer than that. And yet, we still have a lot of questions. And we still don't have a lot of answers. But we're making progress. We're learning more about this. So first off, can you define what smoke taint is? Anita Oberholster 0:35 Sure. So the first thing I would want to say is that, you know, when a vineyard is exposed to smoke, we talk about smoke impact, this potential smoke impact. Smoke taint is actually a sensory term. So that is when you have something that causes a decrease in quality or fault in the wine, then we start calling it taint. So when smoke impact in the vineyard is great enough that it impacts the fruit in such a way that it makes wine that is inferior and has a fault, then it is smoke taint. So smoke impact in grapes causes potentially smoked taint in wine. That clear? Craig Macmillan 1:16 Absolutely. So there would be smoke impact then, as a standalone, what would be smoke impact? Anita Oberholster 1:21 Okay, so smoke impact would be that there was fresh enough smoke that the grapevines were exposed to that the grapes absorb some of the volatile phenols coming from the smoke, so that it's more than normal. So smoke impact would be there were some absorption that took place. So grape composition is not totally what it was before smoke exposure, that would be smoke impact. Craig Macmillan 1:47 And then smoke taint is what happens when you turn it into wine. The aromas that you get from that? Anita Oberholster 1:51 Yes, and if the smoke impact was enough, because if you only have a little bit of absorption, that may still be a result in a wine that has no problems, right. So the smoke impact has to be at a certain significant level before we see a problem in the wines. So it's very important to know just a little bit of absorption do not always equal a problem in the winery. Craig Macmillan 2:16 What kinds of aromas in terms of like descriptors and also then what kind of compounds, their aromas are compounds, what kind of compounds are we talking about? Anita Oberholster 2:27 Okay, so I'm gonna get a little bit scientific. Craig Macmillan 2:29 Do it please. Anita Oberholster 2:30 So if you think of smoke, right, if we think a w

Have you worked with a social media influencer? While the concept of working with influencers may sound intimidating to some, we can assure you that with clear goals and succinct calls to action, the process is super rewarding and for direct to consumer sales can be very lucrative. Welcome to Marketing Tip Monday with SIP Certified. We know customers are looking for wines labeled as sustainable. While our longer-form episodes help you learn about the latest science and research for the wine industry, these twice-monthly micro podcasts will help you share your dedication to sustainable winegrowing so you can show your customers that you share their values. Today we are taking about social media influencers. As we've discussed in previous Marketing Tips, partnering with social media influencers is a great way to reach groups of people who may be unaware of your brand, and specifically, partnering with a "wine influencer" will ensure that your brand is being shared with consumers who are passionate about wine and wine culture. In an effort to broaden brand awareness for SIP Certified, we engaged social media influencers in Q1 and Q2 of 2022. These campaigns were an incredible way to educate consumers about the benefits of purchasing SIP Certified wines and helped distill the messaging of sustainability down to digestible language via influencers. Creating a budget, establishing goals, brand parameters, and tracking engagement are the key elements in an influencer campaign. Any reputable influencer will have a rate sheet complete with their prices for different types of posts as well as their average engagement rates and demographic reach. This is important for your brand as the reach should be successful and align with your existing or aspirational customer. Setting brand parameters is important so the influencer's messaging is in line with your existing brand guidelines and feel. Now, to really see how these partnerships have played out, I invite you to check out our show notes and use the link to our latest article called, Connecting with a Broader Audience. Here you can see the recipes created by the equally talented and funny Jerry James Stone. This year, Jerry is pairing SIP Certified brands with fresh and simple eats that you are going to want to try for yourself. Check out Seared Polenta with Slow Roasted Tomatoes and Pesto & Ron Rubin's 2019 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir and Blackberry Balsamic & Basil Grilled Cheese & Rava's 2018 Grenache Rosé. This year we just had to work with Isis Daniel, aka the Millennial Somm again. A certified Level 3 with Merit Wine and Spirit Education Trust wine consultant and wine content creator, she produces educational and entertaining wine content across her social media channels. In her fun and casual #TastingThursday Instagram live show, she sits and sips with wine-growers and -makers through a friendly interview, giving her audience insight into the personalities and passions of the people behind the wines. Grab a glass of McIntyre's 2018 Pinot Noir and sit back and enjoy our #TastingThursday with Kristen McIntyre of McIntyre Wines! A lifelong love for travel, a degree in Visual Arts and Art History, and a whimsical purchase of a bottle of Bordeaux were the perfect ingredients to inspire Christy to begin her exploration of California's diverse wine-growing regions. Thus, Christy on the Vine was born. Her wine blog is dedicated to documenting her experiences with the wines and wineries she encounters on her journeys. Join Christy on the Vine as she enjoys SIP Certified Sustainable Wines from the Santa Lucia Highlands in the sand in Monterey Bay. Featured on this blog and Instagram post are the 2019 SLH Chardonnay from McIntyre Family Wines and the 2019 Lucia Pinot Noir from Pisoni Family Vineyards. Dedicated to making wine, food, and travel more fun, Mike Cano leverages his multilingual, communications, and digital marketing skills to invite consumers of all demographics to explore various wines and wine regions. Through his wine blog, LatinxWine, he shares informative brand backstory and wine tasting notes of the wines he enjoys. His sunny, poolside Instagram post documents his experience of two SIP Certified wines: Center of Effort's 2017 Edna Valley Chardonnay, and Cambria Estate Winery's 2020 Julia's Vineyard Pinot Noir. Tag us, and use the SIP Certified GIPHYs! If you are SIP Certified, we love seeing and sharing your content! Tag us @SIPCertified in your upcoming Instagram and Facebook posts. And make sure you use our GIPHYs on your next Instagram story or Snapchat content. Just search for "SIP Certified" in the stickers, or check out the link to this article to save the files so you can use them in your emails or on your website. Check out the show notes for links to this article, more posts filled with the latest social media tips to grow your following, and to sign up for our biweekly Marketing Tips newsletter. Until next time, this is Sustainable Winegrowi

Did you know that the Farm Service Agency offers financial assistance to remove and replant vines infected with Red Blotch? Jeff Sledd, County Executive Director at the San Luis Obispo County Farm Service Agency explains how the Tree Assistance Program (TAP) offers commercial farmers aid with multiple qualifying disasters including natural occurrences like freezing or floods, and diseases including Pierces Disease and Red Blotch. The Farm Service Agency is a national program with county-level agencies for assistance. It is important for farmers to connect with their local agency to remain aware of current relief programs and to request funding for new issues. Make sure to listen to the end. If you received an insurance payment in 2020, 2021, or 2022 for COVID or drought, you may be eligible for the Emergency Relief Program. References: 122: Preserving Agriculture Land to Combat Climate Change California State Office of the FSA Farmers.gov Jeffrey Sledd Tree Assistance Program SIP Certified Sustainable Ag Expo November 14-16, 2022 Get More Subscribe wherever you listen so you never miss an episode on the latest science and research with the Sustainable Winegrowing Podcast. Since 1994, Vineyard Team has been your resource for workshops and field demonstrations, research, and events dedicated to the stewardship of our natural resources. Learn more at www.vineyardteam.org. Transcript Craig Macmillan 0:00 And with me today is Jeff Sledd, who is the county executive director of the San Luis Obispo County Farm Service Agency, which is part of the United States Department of Agriculture. And today we're going to talk about the tree Assistance Program plus couple of other things. Hey, thanks for being on the podcast, Jeff. Jeff Sledd 0:14 Hey, I'm glad to be here. I'm glad to join you, Craig. Thank you. Craig Macmillan 0:18 For those who may not be familiar with the organization, what exactly is the Farm Service Agency? Jeff Sledd 0:23 Sure, good question. So the Farm Service Agency is a division of the United States Department of Agriculture. We are tasked specifically to administer the Farm Bill, which is a package of legislation that Congress puts out around every five or so years, that has to do with everything ag related in the US. And the Farm Service Agency specifically administers the subsidy and disaster programs that are designed to aid farmers with financial assistance to help them feed America. Craig Macmillan 0:59 And speaking of disasters, there is a program called the Tree Assistance Program that is to help growers of tree things specifically, in the face of various kinds of losses. Can you tell us a little bit about the program just in general and who's eligible? Jeff Sledd 1:15 So yes, it's called the Tree Assistance Program. Because we're a federal agency. We abbreviate everything, so if you call in and ask about it, you'll probably hear us call it TAP tree Assistance Program. It's a bit of a misnomer because it is for trees, bushes and vines, anything that is grown, that is part of a commercial farming operation, this program would cover those. Again, like I said, as long as it's for commercial consumption or use. The Tree Assistance Program specifically, is a cost share program that helps farmers and ranchers and orchardists remove and replant dead or diseased trees, bushes, and vines that are dead or diseased because of a qualifying condition for the program. Most of those conditions are natural occurrences weather related disasters but for grape growers, specifically in San Luis Obispo County, the plant disease Red Blotch is sort of how this program is used most. So for orchardists, who have Red Blotch in their vineyards to a point where you know, it's beginning to curtail their production. This program helps cost share the price of removing those vines, prepping the ground, and then replanting new vines. Craig Macmillan 2:40 Are there other diseases or issues that like maybe statewide that also would be covered for winegrapes by TAP. Jeff Sledd 2:46 Most other probably parts of the state and the nation really use the tree assistance program more for natural disasters like floods and freezes and things like that. Well, we don't have unfortunately, we don't have very many floods, don't have a lot of rain. But probably it could be used for things like fire if a fire came through and burn up an orchard. But it's typically used more for like freezes and things like that. Craig Macmillan 3:16 I had a memory that maybe Pierce's Disease was also covered by the program and Leaf Roll virus had been added a couple of years ago is that true? Jeff Sledd 3:23 Leaf roll virus has been added, a Pierce's Disease, although I don't know how prevalent that is in San Luis Obispo County, I can tell you, we haven't helped any vineyards that have Pierce's Disease, but yes, it would, it could qualify and there are other diseases that may not be approved at this point. But if you one of your listeners is being affected

Thach and Lease asked the managers of 375 United States wineries, "How much impact do you believe your social media efforts have on wine sales?" 87% of respondents said they believe that their social media presence increases sales. Welcome to Marketing Tip Monday with SIP Certified. We know customers are looking for wines labeled as sustainable. While our longer form episodes help you learn about the latest science and research for the wine industry, these twice monthly micro podcasts will help you share your dedication to sustainable winegrowing so you can show your customers that you share their values. Today we are asking the question, Does social media impact wine sales? Social media has changed the way consumers and businesses interact. It not only provides convenient two-way communication between consumers and the products and services they support, but it has opened the door for consumers to participate in the marketing and messaging of brands by creating their own content about the products they love and sharing it with their friends, family, and communities. A 2018 study looking at the social media adoption and activities of 1173 wineries in Germany, the USA, New Zealand and Australia, suggests that "wineries need to develop a clear purpose for using social media and then adapt to the needs of the consumers in their respective markets." To do so, it is important to understand how consumers interact with wine brands on social media and what kind of content they are looking for. Provide Value by Offering Guidance Wine is complex. Many consumers who are new to drinking wine don't know what they're looking for, and could easily find themselves overwhelmed and intimated by the numerous varieties, tasting notes, and wine brands on the market. Creating educational and informative wine content can help to create trust between consumers and your brand. Here are a few ideas to get you started: How to choose your next bottle by working with existing preferences How to pair wine with a meal to plan a special dinner How to line up an at-home tasting Bonus tip: Ask your followers what they want to learn more about! When you deliver on their requests, they'll continue to look out for your valuable posts. Interact With Consumers Word of mouth is one of the most common ways we hear about new brands and products to try. We are social creatures and feel more secure taking a chance on a product that has been vetted by a friend or colleague. How often have you seen your friends and family post a picture of a meal at their favorite restaurant, a picnic spread with a bottle of wine set up in the yard, or simply posing with a new item they fell in love with? Next time you see one of these, check the caption - a lot of people will tag the brands and companies included in their photos! If you receive a notification that your brand has been tagged in someone's content, take the opportunity to make a connection with a loyal customer by leaving a response in the comments. Social media offers a low-cost way for you to build relationships with consumers and your brand community, and being a brand that engages with its customers sets you up to receive continued support. There is an easy way to catch up on posts you're tagged in on Instagram that you may have missed! Go to your profile, and above the grid displaying your posts to the far right is an icon you can tap on to see posts from other users that you've been tagged in. Check it out, and get to interacting! Collaborate with an Influencer Social media "lifestyle influencers" are people who use their social media channels to promote products and services of companies whose products are used by everyday people in their daily lives. They connect their niche audiences to brands that share common values and interests - a phenomenon that is changing the way consumers find and connect with brands. Specifically, "wine influencers" are often educated and even certified in wine education. Teaming up with a social media influencer is a fun way to reach groups of people who may be unaware of your brand. Collaboration with a wine influencer is a way to ensure that your brand is being shared with consumers who are passionate about wine and wine culture. Psst ... we are helping spread the word about sustainability and our members' brands! Keep an eye out for the next Marketing Tip, where we will show our recent social media influencer collaborations that have helped spread the news about our members' good work protecting the people and the planet. Tag us, and use the SIP Certified GIPHYs! If you are SIP Certified, we love seeing and sharing your content! Tag us @SIPCertified in your upcoming Instagram and Facebook posts. And make sure you use our GIPHYs on your next Instagram story or Snapchat content. Just search for "SIP Certified" in the stickers, or check out the link to this article to save the files so you can use them in your emails or on your website. Check out the show notes for li

What is the most important factor in vineyard irrigation scheduling? Organization. Having defined company goals and someone in charge of holding the team accountable. Tom Shapland, Co-founder and CEO of Tule Technologies and Lucas Pope, Director of Operations at Coastal Vineyard Services share their top challenges and strategies to apply the right amount of water at the right time. Incorporating tools like soil moisture sensors, plant-based monitoring, weather data, and soil types helps farmers know how much water is reserved in the soil so they can irrigate efficiently without applying more than the soil can handle. References: 2022-07-15 Night Harvest Lighting & SWEEP Grants Tailgate (register) 55: Using Technology to Schedule Irrigation (podcast) 63: Evaluate and Maintain Your Irrigation System (podcast) 108: Using Satellite Data for Irrigation Scheduling Drip Irrigation Startup: Recommended Procedures How To Correct Pressure Chamber Readings for the Influence of Vapor Pressure Deficit (Tom Shapland) Irrigation Consumer Bill of Rights Irrigation Maintenance in English & Spanish (video) Irrigation Scheduling in Winegrape Vineyards (by Craig Macmillan and Kris Beal) SIP Certified Sustainable Ag Expo November 14-16, 2022 Tule Technologies Tule Technologies video library on irrigation topics Coastal Vineyard Services Get More Subscribe wherever you listen so you never miss an episode on the latest science and research with the Sustainable Winegrowing Podcast. Since 1994, Vineyard Team has been your resource for workshops and field demonstrations, research, and events dedicated to the stewardship of our natural resources. Learn more at www.vineyardteam.org. Transcript Craig Macmillan 0:00 Hi, I'm your host Craig Macmillan. And today our guests are Tom Shapland, who is the Co-Founder and CEO of Tule Technologies. And Lucas Pope, who is Director of Operations for Coastal Vineyard Services. Thanks, you guys for being here. Tom Shapland 0:12 Great to be here. Thank you for having us. Craig Macmillan 0:16 Today, we're going to talk about irrigation scheduling very important topic, obviously, which will become obvious if it's not already as we move through the interview here. I've had a lot of experience with this. And now I get the pleasure of hearing what other folks say rather than just listening to myself all the time. I've got a question for both of you, Tom, you can go first. Why is irrigation scheduling using a methadone other than just simply calendar approach so important? Tom Shapland 0:39 We know irrigation scheduling is important, because every year the yield and quality from a vineyard changes. And we can ask ourself, what happened that the yield or quality is different this year in this very same piece of ground compared to last year. And there are a number of factors we can point to the weather is different every year, how you manage the canopy may be different every year, how you manage the fruit load. And finally, another thing that's important is how much water has been stored in the soil profile from winter rainfall and how you irrigate it. And we know that every year the vines get, a vineyard block gets a different amount of water from winter rainfall that sets up every year in a different way. And how we irrigate influences the water status of the plants throughout the year and in turn influences the yield and quality of the vineyard. So we can look at the yield and quality for each particular year. And we can ask ourselves, why is the yielding quality different this year compared to last year. And one of the main factors is how we irrigated. That if we just irrigate, assuming that everything's the same every year that the canopy size is the same, the amount of rainfall stored in the soil profile is the same, we're gonna get a different result. So if you're really trying to aim for a certain yield target, or a certain quality target, or a certain yield and quality target, you can't just leave it up to a calendar, you're not going to reach your production goal, you have to manage according to the water status of the plant, you have to manage irrigation according to the water status and plants. If you expect to reach some target in yielding quality, you can't manage by calendar to achieve your targets for yield and quality you have to manage based on the water status of the plants. Craig Macmillan 2:21 So this would be similar conceptually to the idea of targeted fertilization, where I'm going to measure how much nitrogen in the soil I'm going to measure what the plant nutrient status is. And I'm going to act accordingly as opposed to just putting on so many units every spring or fall. Lucas, what are your thoughts on this topic? Lucas Pope 2:37 I think Tom hit it on the head. Ultimately, each season is different. So we are trying to actively manage different things at different times of the year. So going from a calendar type, more of an old school thought process of just irrigating on a calenda

Invasive pests and diseases are a challenge for all grape growers. Research is vital to develop new strategies and solutions. The Pierce's Disease/Glassy-Winged Sharpshooter Board was established nearly two decades ago to allocate funding to the most promising research projects. Kristin Lowe, Research Coordinator at the Pierce's Disease and Glassy-Winged Sharpshooter Board and President of Vine Balance Consulting shares how projects are funded through a rigorous scientific review and screening panel. Also, learn about some of the most exciting projects including "pathogen confusion" to control Pierce's Disease from Dr. Steve Lindow and a gene editing technology for grapevines using plant protoplasts Dr David Tricoli. References: 89: New Pierce's Disease Vaccine (podcast) 2021 Pierce's Disease Research Projects at a Glance 2021 Pierce's Disease Research Symposium Proceedings 2021 Pierce's Disease Research Symposium session recordings 2022-07-16 Night Harvest Lighting & SWEEP Grants Tailgate About the PD/GWSS Board Biological Control of Pierce's Disease of Grape by an Endophytic Bacterium CDFA Pierce's Disease Research Symposium SIP Certified Sustainable Ag Expo November 14-16, 2022 Vine Balance Consulting Get More Subscribe wherever you listen so you never miss an episode on the latest science and research with the Sustainable Winegrowing Podcast. Since 1994, Vineyard Team has been your resource for workshops and field demonstrations, research, and events dedicated to the stewardship of our natural resources. Learn more at www.vineyardteam.org. Transcript Craig Macmillan 0:00 I'm your host Craig Mcmillan. And with me today is Kristin Lowe, president of Vine Balance Consulting, and research coordinator for the Pierce's Disease Glassy-Winged Sharpshooter Board. Welcome, Kristin. Kristin Lowe 0:12 Thank you so much for having me. Craig Macmillan 0:13 First off, can you tell us what is the Pierce's Disease and Glassy-Winged Sharpshooter Board or the PDGWSS? As I want to call it from now on? Kristin Lowe 0:21 Absolutely. So the PDGWSS Board is a group of California growers or grower producers. There's 14 board members and also one public member. And their primary goal is to make sure that all of the assessment funds that are received to the board go to the most promising research for our most challenging pests and diseases today. Those that are designated as important problems. Craig Macmillan 0:48 And so the funding comes from an assessment. Kristin Lowe 0:50 That is correct. So the assessment, I believe, on average is about $1.50 per $1,000 of grapes in terms of value .The most, the cap is at $3 per 1000 grapes in value. But yes, that's collected every year and has been so since the board started back in 2001. Craig Macmillan 1:13 What led to the creation of the board? Kristin Lowe 1:15 Pierce's Disease. So. Well, I think anyone who's looked into the history of Pierce's Disease, so this is a bacterial disease, endemic to California, not not necessarily new to California, right. But what was new to California was not only the establishment, but the fact that the Glassy-Winged Sharpshooter started thriving down in Southern California. That is the vector for Pierce's Disease. That insect exists in parts of Mexico and also parts of Florida and the Southeast US. But it got to California, and it started doing really well to the point that Pierce's disease started taking off. This led to a lot of sad looking pictures of dead vines, lots of concern over lost acreage, and this would be during the late 1990s or so. And in response to this, industry leaders from all different groups came together. A combination of industry USDA, UC California researchers, CDFA, to create the Pierce's Disease Control Program. And that's got many facets, but one of it is the PDGWSS Board, which whose mission is to fund the most important research to combat Pierce's Disease, Glassy-Winged Sharpshooter and all the other pests that they've designated in their RFP. Craig Macmillan 2:31 Yeah. And so the the mission is expanded now beyond just Glassy-Wing to a number of other invasive pests that correct? Kristin Lowe 2:37 Yeah, it has it has. And there's, there's a clear path for that. And I think what really blew that open was the European Grapevine Moth. So another invasive pest species that showed up, oh, gosh, and I think that was somewhere around 2011 or so maybe a little bit before, but agriculture always has a new bad guy. And so we needed a way for the for the PDGWSS board to, you know, expand what it was going to fund in terms of research to deal with new problems and, and continuing ones that keep coming back. Craig Macmillan 3:08 So what exactly is your role with the board? Kristin Lowe 3:11 Sure. So, they put out a call for proposals for a research coordinator last year, and I got the job, very excited. And so my goal is to kind of basically help guide the program to make sure that what we're funding is really on point to, to our goal

There are three levels of cold hardiness in grapes and understanding these can help growers select and manage the best varieties for their region. Imed Dami, Professor of Viticulture in the Department of Horticulture and Crop Science at The Ohio State University, explains cold tolerance and new information about the role of abscisic acid in ripening. First an overview of cold hardiness. The first level is very cold tender. A lot of these varieties are grown in California and they are not native to North America. Second, are cold hardy, or tolerant grapes. These are the native species to North America. And third are hybrid crosses. The majority of grapes being farmed fall into this category. New research is being done on abscisic acid, a plant hormone that induces dormancy. When sprayed around version, it can help send the plants into dormancy earlier and maintain a deeper dormancy which makes the grapevines more cold tolerant. References: 2022-06-03 Roller Crimper Tailgate (Register) Abscisic Acid and Cold Hardiness in Grapes Buckeye Appellation Foliar Applied Abscisic Acid Increases 'Chardonnay' Grapevine Bud Freezing Tolerance during Autumn Cold Acclimation Foliar Application of Abscisic Acid Increases Freezing Tolerance of Field-grown Vitis vinifera Cabernet franc Grapevines (Abstract only) Imed Dami (email) SIP Certified Sustainable Ag Expo November 14-16, 2022 Winter Injury to Grapevines and Methods of Protection Get More Subscribe wherever you listen so you never miss an episode on the latest science and research with the Sustainable Winegrowing Podcast. Since 1994, Vineyard Team has been your resource for workshops and field demonstrations, research, and events dedicated to the stewardship of our natural resources. Learn more at www.vineyardteam.org. Transcript Craig Macmillan 0:00 Our guest today is Imed Dami. He's Professor of Viticulture in the Department of Horticulture and Crop Science at The Ohio State University. Thanks for being on the show, Imed. So you're doing some pretty interesting work there in the Midwest or East, depending on who you ask. So you work in Ohio, and you work in cold hardiness of grapes, grape vines, which is the work you've been doing for quite a fair amount of time. Now, you did that as well, in your graduate work. What can you tell us about what the climatic conditions are like in Ohio, especially in regards to cold weather, that may not be seen another grape growing region to the US. So other listeners may not be familiar with kind of the challenges there are. Imed Dami 0:35 So in terms of the growing season in Ohio, it could be similar to many other grape growing regions in the country. However, during the dormant season, in the winter, it is different, it is much colder in Ohio. So the way we determine you know, how cold it is, in Ohio, is there is this maps, it's called the plant called hardness map developed by USDA. And these maps are based on lowest temperature for 30 years during the coldest month of the year. So they put that information together, you know, and they come up with averages, and then they divide, you know, each state into different zones based on those minimum temperature. Okay. So for example, in Ohio, we have three zone. The minimum temperature range between zero and minus 15 fahrenheit. So that is cold. And then they designate you know, these zones, like a number and the letter. So, for example, in Ohio, we have the three zones, you know, designated as six B, six A and five B. However, the majority of the state falls in the what we call six A's zone, where temps range between minus five to minus 15. So that is very cold. So, how do we relate this to the grapes? Grape vines, typically, they start to see cold damage at temperature of zero fahrenheit, or lower. So you could see, you know, like grown grapes in the majority of the location in Ohio is challenging, you know, just because of how cold it gets during the winter. Just to give you like a point of reference, these numbers, you know, of the zones, the higher the number, the milder the winter is. So, for example, in California, the majority of the grape growing region, they fall in the region of 9, 10, and 11 zones. And in those zones, the minimum temperature doesn't fall below freezing. So that's why in California, you don't hear any, you know, problems about cold damage during the winter. Craig Macmillan 2:44 That's in that brings up an interesting point. So, you know, you say damage happening at zero degrees fahrenheit, why is it the vine damaged and cell walls breaking and whatnot, when we get below freezing? If that vine is full of, you know, water, that it's taken up in the fall and things like that? Why is it why does it need to get so cold before we see damage? Imed Dami 3:03 That's a good question. So the, the plants in general, they have a different mechanism of survival, you know, to cold. So when it comes to grape vines, the most sensitive part of the vine are the buds. And these

We know customers are looking for wines labeled as sustainable. To help you communicate your sustainable practices with customers we are bringing you Marketing Tip Mondays from SIP Certified. Let's listen in to our latest tip so you can show your customers that you share their values. Seasons of Sustainability: Summer While many industries slowdown in the summer, the warmer, longer days bring a boost of activity in the world of wine. We can always expect to see an increase in tourists and locals looking to explore the wineries and vineyards in the coming summer months, all while the excitement of harvest brews behind the scenes. Here are some tips to help prepare you for the busy season ahead! Teach your team about your practices so they can make your customers experience special. Bring your farmer or winemaker into your next team meeting to talk about what's going on right now from conserving water by monitoring soil and plant moisture status to conserving energy in the cellar with night fans. These timely practices are also perfect for social media. We also have two great PDF downloads you can share with your staff to help them answer the most frequently asked questions in the tasting room like "What is an example of sustainable farming?" and "How often do you water the vines?". On your podcast player, scroll down to the show notes to get all the resources. You can also subscribe to our Marketing Tips eNewsletter to get the latest consumer trends, branding methods, and sales tactics delivered right to your inbox. Thanks for listening to Marketing Tips Monday from SIP Certified. Let us know what you think of these micro podcasts by sending an email to [email protected]. References: Marketing Tips eNewsletter Seasons of Sustainability: Summer SIP Buzzwords for Your Consumer-Facing Staff Talking to Your Customers About Your Sustainable Practices

All winegrowers are on the same quest to find virus negative plant material. James Stamp, President at Stamp Associates Viticulture, Inc, works with his clients to find the highest quality grapevine plants to establish new vineyards. This thorough process to find virus negative material includes partnering with nurseries that previously delivered good product. There is oversight through all stages of production from testing material to harvesting and grafting, from production to delivery, and the final selection of plants for the vineyard site. The number one tip to get quality grapevines is to pay attention to where the plant material is coming from, have great communication with the nursery, and sample the finished product for Red Blotch and Leaf Roll Three. References: 06-03-2022 | Roller Crimper Demo Tailgate, King City, CA (Event registration) 20: Dr. Mark Fuchs | Red Blotch Virus in Grapevines (podcast) 49: Stopping the Spread of Red Leaf Viruses (podcast) 71: New Techniques to Detect Grapevine Leafroll Disease (podcast) 131: Virus Detection in Grapevines Grape Program at Foundation Plant Services Grapevine propagation: principles and methods for the production of high-quality grapevine planting material Leafroll 3 Virus (GLRaV3) AKA Grapevine Leafroll Disease in Washington Red Blotch Virus SIP Certified Sourcing Grapevines for a New Vineyard Stamp Associates Viticulture, Inc. Sustainable Ag Expo November 14-16, 2022 Virus Disease Guide in Grapes Get More Subscribe wherever you listen so you never miss an episode on the latest science and research with the Sustainable Winegrowing Podcast. Since 1994, Vineyard Team has been your resource for workshops and field demonstrations, research, and events dedicated to the stewardship of our natural resources. Learn more at www.vineyardteam.org. Transcript Craig Macmillan 0:00 My name is Craig Macmillan and I am your host, as always. Today we have with us James Stamp, who is president of Stamp Associates Viticulture, Incorporated. And thanks for being on the show, James. I'm really looking forward to this. James Stamp 0:13 Yes, thanks for having me, Craig, I'm looking forward to it as well. Craig Macmillan 0:15 So James, you have a interesting company. And you've had an interesting career over the years. But right now, your company does a number of very interesting kind of things in three different areas. And what I was hoping to do is talk about each of those individually in a little bit of detail and have you explain kind of how those things work. First of all, you folks do independent analysis and quality control for grapevine nursery stock production. Tell me more about that. James Stamp 0:39 Our clients hire us to find the highest quality grapevine plants for establishing new vineyards. And what we do is to select nurseries that we have previous experience with in terms of delivering good product. And nurseries, where we have previously inspected and tested their increased box and the increase box, as you know, are the rootstock and science sources of materials for propagation. So we, we put together a proposal for our clients to provide the best quality of plant materials that we can. And then we get involved with discussing with nurseries, which materials are best to use. We oversee the testing of those materials, we oversee the harvesting and grafting of those materials. We oversee the production of those materials, that particular nurseries, and we oversee the delivery and final selection of those plants to the vineyard sites. And as part of our, our understanding with our growers, we are available to look at those plants during the course of the vineyard development. We'd like to be there to see how our plants grow. Once they're planted, Craig Macmillan 1:54 A grower will come to you and say I'm planting a vineyard, I want to make sure that it's virus free, or disease disease free, I would imagine. And you folks start at the very beginning, you go out and look at the blocks where the first cuttings are going to come from the good gonna go into those plants. Is that right? James Stamp 2:12 Yes. When I first started doing this, in 1999, I was asked to look at finished product. In other words, vines that had already been grafted, already been grown in the field, already been growing the greenhouse. And at that point, it's very difficult to have any real control over the quality of the finished product. So it seemed to me like a good idea to start with the source materials that we use to graph the vines and to make sure the source materials, the root stock on the scion, are of high quality and disease, pathogen test negative and that's exactly how we start by finding the source materials for the production of grape vine plants ultimately to be planted in the vineyards. Craig Macmillan 2:53 Obviously, if someone's going to plant, let's say hundreds of 1000s of vines, we're talking about hundreds of 1000s of cuttings. Is that right? James Stamp 3:03 Hundred

Since 2016 we've brought you the latest science and research for the wine industry. These bi-monthly podcasts help you care for the people and planet but we wanted to address that third P of sustainability: prosperity. We know customers are looking for wines labeled as sustainable. In a recent systematic review of 30 studies, consumers reported a higher preference for ecolabel and social responsibility labels compared to nutrition labels. To help you communicate your sustainable practices with customers were going to add Marketing Tip Mondays from SIP Certified to our lineup. These will be short, with no intro music, no-frills episodes. Just a quick overview of our latest marketing tip so you can show your customers that you share their values. On to today's tip: Are you talking about your sustainability efforts? More Americans than ever are making environmentally conscious decisions when it comes to the products they buy and the businesses they support. Consumers want to support brands that share their values and take action to preserve the health of the planet. It's important to let them know that your brand protects the people and the planet! Kyle Coots of Ancient Peaks finds that his customers love hearing about how they utilize, benefit, and protect various animal species: Many sustainable practices involve our animal friends! So, you can talk about: Attracting birds of prey to keep vertebrate pests at bay Creating wildlife corridors that provide native species with safe passage through your property Attracting and releasing beneficial insects to keep down insect pests and reduce the use of pesticides Planting cover crops and native plants to attract those beneficial insects And…Bringing in sheep to graze the vineyards, thus reducing the use of tractors and machines You can also communicate these practices by making an informational pamphlet to include in your wine club shipments or keep at the tasting room for your members to enjoy. Another great way to showcase your sustainability is with a dedicated page on your website. On your podcast player, scroll down to the show notes to read the full article and see some great website pages dedicated to sustainability from our members. You can also subscribe to our Marketing Tips eNewsletter to get the latest consumer trends, branding methods, and sales tactics delivered right to your inbox. Thanks for listening to our first Marketing Tips Monday from SIP Certified. Let us know what you think of these micro podcasts by sending an email to [email protected]. Are you talking about your sustainability efforts? Marketing Tips eNewsletter

With the prevalence of Leaf Roll Three, Red Blotch, and other viruses, accurate and timely detection of viruses in grapevines has never been more imperative. Alan Wei, Owner and Lab Manager at Agri-Analysis LLC in Davis California explains how his lab is using state-of-the-art technologies to find new viruses. Dr. We will explain sampling strategies to help growers screen and test larger number of grapevines with a fixed testing budget. He will also explain exciting emerging technologies such as next generation sequencing (NGS). Currently, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is the widely accepted method for testing for viruses. This process tests for one gene at time. Next generation sequencing allows labs to test multiple genes at a time and potentially discover unknown viruses from a single test. References: 20: Dr. Mark Fuchs | Red Blotch Virus in Grapevines 49: Stopping the Spread of Red Leaf Viruses 71: New Techniques to Detect Grapevine Leafroll Disease Agri-analysis LLC Donate: Juan Nevarez Memorial Scholarship Grape Program at Foundation Plant Services Leafroll 3 Virus (GLRaV3) AKA Grapevine Leafroll Disease in Washington Next Generation Sequencing (Deep Sequencing) PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) Testing Red Blotch Virus SIP Certified Sustainable Ag Expo November 14-16, 2022 Get More Subscribe wherever you listen so you never miss an episode on the latest science and research with the Sustainable Winegrowing Podcast. Since 1994, Vineyard Team has been your resource for workshops and field demonstrations, research, and events dedicated to the stewardship of our natural resources. Learn more at www.vineyardteam.org. Transcript Craig Macmillan 0:00 My guest today is Alan Wei, who's owner and lab manager of Agri Analysis LLC in Davis, California. Alan, thanks for being on the show. Alan Wei 0:10 Thank you very much, Craig, for hosting me. And I'm very delighted to be here. And I want to use this opportunity to say hello to listeners as well. Craig Macmillan 0:19 So Alan, I want to have you on the show, because I want to talk about anything that's new and exciting in the world of grapevine virology, and a lot of research and a lot of development in industry with labs like your own. So, what's what's what's happening out there, what's going on with detection of viruses these days? Alan Wei 0:36 There is a International conference on grapevine viruses that's held every three years. So last time was 2018, in Chile. And the second, the following time was supposed to be 2021 in Greece, and unfortunately, that was canceled due to the obvious reasons, and then was supposed to be happening this year. And by the way, is not happening, and it's postponed until next year. So as a result, we have not, the researchers in this field have not been able to meet to report the latest grapevine viruses. Just to mention something that in the literature, for example, there are two or three new DNA viruses being discovered and reported. In fact, in grapevines, but their practical consequences are known. So we probably don't want to get in too much into them. Craig Macmillan 1:33 Maybe not, but I think this is an interesting thing because for instance, red blotch, caught everybody by surprise. And so how are these new...how are these these new viruses, how are they found, if you are looking forward, you're looking for other things, what kind of technology they're using to find this new stuff? Alan Wei 1:49 Typically, they're found by deep sequencing, also known as NGS Next Generation Sequencing. Researchers are always trying to look for the frontiers of why viruses virology by applying these methods and find this new viruses, but their practical impact needs to be validated, study to further be before we alarm growers. And red blotch was found a similar way. With the exception that the red blotch phenomena, and the disease was known to growers for years without the assay and the way the branch was first reported, or discovered through NGS that was, you know, the "wow" moment to growers. Yeah, we do now know what is causing this read leaf in my vineyard. Craig Macmillan 2:43 Tell me a little bit more about NGS, it sounds like this is gonna be an important technology for us, this deep sequencing. Alan Wei 2:48 Yeah, definitely. Deep sequencing is very widely used in the research community. And, when was that, in December meeting hosted by FFPS, they reported that NGS is going to be accepted by regulators like APHIS as a alternative way of testing materials coming from overseas. Which means shortened time and rapid, faster deployment of foreign important materials in in this country, or practically to growers hands. Yeah, the technology is definitely upcoming, and we're looking to possibly deploy it for routine use. We need to hear more feedback before we really do it. Craig Macmillan 3:41 This is obviously a very complicated technology, but like in a sense, can you explain what it is? Alan Wei 3:48 PCR is the way that accepted met

Vine Mealybug (VMB) is a challenging pest in many vineyards. Growers are increasingly incorporating biological control into their Integrated Pest Management programs by releasing Mealybug Destroyers and Anagyrus Wasps. Brett Chandler, President and General Manager at Associates Insectary explains how these two beneficials help manage VMB populations. The Mealybug Destroyer (Cryptolaemus montrouzieri) is a predator beetle. It feeds on eggs and small stages of VMB. The Anagyrus Wasp is a parasite. It lays eggs inside the Mealybug. The challenge with the wasp is that they are very susceptible to many chemicals and require more specialized conditions to be effective. Brett describes how to monitor for both Mealybug and beneficials, when and how often to release the insects, the best release methods, and how to pair beneficials with chemical control. References: 26: Controlling Mealybug Vectors of Grapevine Viruses 119: Vine Mealybug 101: Species Identification, Lifecycle, and Scouting to Create an IPM Program An Important First Step in Biocontrol: Don't Kill the Good Insects Associates Insectary Beneficial organisms for vine mealybug control Donate to the Juan Nevarez Memorial Scholarship Anagyrus vladimiri (formerly pseudococci) Mealybug Destroyer (Cryptolaemus montrouzieri) Natural enemies of Pseudococcus mealybugs SIP Certified Sustainable and Organic Control of Vine Mealybug in Vineyards: Two Growers, Two Approaches Sustainable Ag Expo November 14-16, 2022 Vine Mealybug Management- UCIPM Get More Subscribe wherever you listen so you never miss an episode on the latest science and research with the Sustainable Winegrowing Podcast. Since 1994, Vineyard Team has been your resource for workshops and field demonstrations, research, and events dedicated to the stewardship of our natural resources. Learn more at www.vineyardteam.org. Transcript Craig Macmillan 0:00 And with us today is Brett Chandler, president and general manager of associates and secretary in Santa Paula, California. And thanks for being here. Brett Chandler 0:07 Thank you for having us Craig. Craig Macmillan 0:10 You have been in the world of biological control for a long time. And you have seen a lot of trends and a lot of different approaches and a lot of different paths. And the pest that I want to talk about today is vine mealybug on winegrapes, specifically, and I'm very interested in the bio control strategies that people are employing and how they're doing it and how successful they're turning out to be. And some of the advantages of taking a biocontrol approach. Brett Chandler 0:35 Well, it's actually an integrated approach, where you integrate your chemicals, as a last resort, your cultural practices as a first mainline, and then most importantly, monitoring the insects, both the good and the bad, and keeping a good track on what's happening in the vineyard. And it's much easier than most people think, Craig Macmillan 0:57 You know, I want to shift to that one point there right away as as one of the challenges is you have to measure to manage, right, that's a common saying. And with beneficial insects, one of the challenges that I always found was how to monitor beneficial insects. I was a field checker for a long time, and I'd find lots of pests, but I couldn't find the beneficials. But we had reason to believe that they were part of the ecosystem, you know, populations would go up and down. And, you know, what recommendations do you have for any particular organism, maybe Cryptolaemus ? For monitoring what the populations are like? Brett Chandler 1:30 Cryptolaemus, the organism itself is pretty standout, it's pretty obvious. But when it's feeding among the mealybugs, it's very easy to mistake because it's a mimic, it looks just like the mealybugs, and it can be working among there in numbers that you don't notice, unless you really take the time to look at it. What you're going to find with, say Cryptolaemus feeding is you'll find empty egg masses, where you'll see the white fluffy egg mass where the mealybug normally produces it young, but they're actually empty. And that you come to find is easier to recognize, the more often you see it. It's not that technical, but it is something you need to recognize. And through repetition, it's very doable for most most farm employees. Craig Macmillan 2:14 And again, that's a combination of recognizing the insect itself and also recognizing the evidence that the insect has been there. Because oftentimes, that's what we're looking at is we're looking at the indirect evidence, you know, I should mention, I just dived right in. So the Cryptolaemus montrouzieri is the mealybug destroyer, and is a predator, is that correct? Brett Chandler 2:34 Correct. It's a predator as opposed to the Wasp, which are parasites, which lay their eggs inside the mealybug. The Cryptolaemus beetle actually feeds on the eggs and consumes mass quantities of the eggs and smaller stages of the mealybugs. It's a it's a pred

The Efficient Vineyard Project uses three phases to help growers improve their farming techniques; Measure, Model, and Manage. Terry Bates, Senior Research Associate at Cornell University in the School of Integrative Plant Sciences and Director of the Cornell Lake Erie Research and Extension Laboratory, has worked with the Efficient Vineyard Project since 2015 to collect and interoperate spatial data. He knew that growers were aware that variation in the vineyard was important to manage, but they did not know how to work with spatial data. The three phases create a foundation to make data work for each grower. The first phase, Measure, looks at how growers go about collecting data, what sensors they have, and how that data is being collected. The second phase is to Model the collected data to get the best information. And the third and final phase is to Manage through the mechanization of tasks. The program has even released a free My Efficient Vineyard software to make this process even more accessible to growers. References: 55: Using Technology to Schedule Irrigation 77: Vineyard Pruning Technology Donate to the Juan Nevarez Memorial Scholarship Efficient Vineyard High Resolution Vineyard Nutrient Management Mechanical Pruning in Concord with Dr. Terry Bates (Video) SIP Certified What is the Efficient Vineyard Project? Get More Subscribe on iHeartRADIO, iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, or wherever you listen so you never miss an episode on the latest science and research with the Sustainable Winegrowing Podcast. Since 1994, Vineyard Team has been your resource for workshops and field demonstrations, research, and events dedicated to the stewardship of our natural resources. Learn more at www.vineyardteam.org.

If weeds aren't a top priority in your pest control program, maybe they should be. John A. Roncoroni, Emeritus UC Cooperative Extension Weed Science Farm Advisor and UCIPM affiliate advisor in Napa County discusses his specialty; weed management in California's Coastal and Foothill premium winegrape growing regions. He covers why weeds should play a more important role in pest control programs, knowing which weeds you have on your property, fire mitigation, and the toughest weeds to control today so you can bolster your weed management program. References: 4/29/2022 Steel in the Field Tailgate Steel in the Field Tailgate 70: Science and Controversy of Glyphosate | Dr. Scott Steinmaus (podcast) John Roncoroni MAINTAINING LONG-TERM MANAGEMENT: Herbicide-resistant weeds challenge some signature cropping systems Napa County UCCE University of California Integrated Pest Management Integrated Weed Management Vineyard Floor Management: Steel in the Field (video) Get More Subscribe on Google Play, iHeartRADIO, iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, or wherever you listen so you never miss an episode on the latest science and research with the Sustainable Winegrowing Podcast. Since 1994, Vineyard Team has been your resource for workshops and field demonstrations, research, and events dedicated to the stewardship of our natural resources. Learn more at www.vineyardteam.org.

Dr. Tarah Sullivan is Assistant Professor of Soil Microbiology at Washington State University. In this interview, Tarah discusses how the plant microbiome mirrors the human gut, the ways in which soil microorganisms can alter the bioavailability of micronutrients and metals for plants, why plants in alkaline soils can be deficient in iron when the soil is not, if cover crops can improve soil microbial communities, and what is next for her research. Tarah's research emphasis is on linking the function and phylogeny of the soil microbiome, specifically with regard to the interactions and impacts on metal bioavailability and soil health. Whether the context is micronutrient availability in the rhizosphere, which confers plant growth promotion and crop enhancement, or in the context of contaminated systems where bioremediation and bioaugmentation are the best options to remediate heavy metals polluted sites, the soil microbiome is key in these biotransformations. Understanding the consortia of organisms and the mechanisms involved drives the work done in her lab with a wide array of biochemical and molecular techniques. References: 28: Understanding Soil Health (Podcast) 53: Producing Compost and Carbon Sequestration (Podcast) 106: What? Bury Charcoal in the Vineyard? (Podcast) 113: Microbial Inoculants for Soil Health (Podcast) Digging into Soil Bacteria and Chlorosis Floor Management for Soil Health SIP Certified Soil Microbiology & Agricultural Sustainability | Tarah Sullivan (Podcast) Tarah Sullivan, Assistant Professor of Soil Microbiology, Washington State University Vineyard Team Juan Nevarez Memorial Scholarship Get More Subscribe on Google Play, iHeartRADIO, iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, or wherever you listen so you never miss an episode on the latest science and research with the Sustainable Winegrowing Podcast. Since 1994, Vineyard Team has been your resource for workshops and field demonstrations, research, and events dedicated to the stewardship of our natural resources. Learn more at www.vineyardteam.org.

Greg Pennyroyal of Wilson Creek Winery and Vineyards was looking for soil moisture systems and found that the products available in the market were all expensive, proprietary systems that did not meet the needs of small block Temecula vineyards. He partnered with Reinier van der Lee, CEO of Vinduino, to reverse engineer the technology to develop a product that would give the same results for a fraction of the cost. They have expanded this project over the last five years to collect more and more data that can improve irrigation decisions. Today, they can connect the dots between SAP analysis and soil analysis and continue to add more variables. Over collecting data now will allow them to see what things are most actionable so they can develop a system that is economical and implementable for all blocks. Because there is more to irrigation than how much water is put on, the next phases of research will look at how water holding capacity, organic matter, and biological capacity at vineyards under different farming methods like Regenerative Agriculture impact irrigation efficiency. References: 115: Examining Plant Nutrient Mobility with SAP Analysis 121: Regenerative Agriculture (Rebroadcast) Greg Pennyroyal Irrigation Best Management Practices Kind Harvest Reinier van der Lee SIP Certified Tailgates Vinduino Wilson Creek Winery & Vineyards Get More Subscribe on Google Play, iHeartRADIO, iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, or wherever you listen so you never miss an episode on the latest science and research with the Sustainable Winegrowing Podcast. Since 1994, Vineyard Team has been your resource for workshops and field demonstrations, research, and events dedicated to the stewardship of our natural resources. Learn more at www.vineyardteam.org.

There are numerous tools and technologies to improve irrigation efficiency but by looking at grower demographics, we can better predict which growers will implement best management practices. Plus, we can learn how to educate all growers to improve adoption. Nicholas Babin, Assistant Professor of Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences at California Polytechnic State University, conducted a two-year study to assess Paso Robles California AVA grape growers' thoughts around climate change adaptation, irrigation efficiency, practice adoption, and SGMA. SGMA, or Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, is a California state policy aiming to bring over drafted groundwater basins into sustainability in 20 to 30 years. Agencies are established in sub basins like Paso Robles to establish groundwater management strategies for their region. After discovering that the adoption of water management strategies like soil and plant tissue monitoring devices, distribution uniformity tests, and flow meters, was lower for smaller vineyards under 40 acres, Nicholas and his team looked at other demographics to determine which factors most influence adoption of best management practices. By evaluating growers' income, rainfall, education, vineyard size, and other influences, the research found that the most important factor in predicting the adoption of water efficiency management practices is participation in the SIP Certified program for sustainable winegrowing. Nicholas also covers the Cal -Adapt tool to predict the impact of climate change on specific vineyards and gives a sneak peek at his latest research on the efficacy of carbon farming programs. References: 116: Using Nudge Theory to Improve Irrigation Practices 122: Preserving Agriculture Land to Combat Climate Change Cal-Adapt Cal-Adapt Tutorial California Climate & Agriculture Network (CalCAN) Nicholas Babin, Assistant Professor of Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences at California Polytechnic State University Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) SIP Certified State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program (SWEEP) Vineyard-specific climate projections help growers manage risk and plan adaptation in the Paso Robles AVA Get More Subscribe on Google Play, iHeartRADIO, iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, or wherever you listen so you never miss an episode on the latest science and research with the Sustainable Winegrowing Podcast. Since 1994, Vineyard Team has been your resource for workshops and field demonstrations, research, and events dedicated to the stewardship of our natural resources. Learn more at www.vineyardteam.org.

While many growers are familiar with the Western Leafhopper, they may not know as much about the Virginia Creeper Leafhopper. Houston Wilson, Assistant Cooperative Extension Specialist in the Department of Entomology at UC Riverside and Director of UC Organic Agriculture Institute has been studying the Virginia Creeper Leafhopper and potential biological controls. Leafhoppers are pierce and suck feeders. The insect removes small amounts of plant material causing a stippling effect on the leaf. This damage reduces the photosynthetic capacity of the vine and can reduce yields. The Virginia Creeper Leafhopper was recently introduced into the North Coast of California where it was discovered that it has no biological controls. Additionally, its life stages are different from the more well-known Western Leafhopper so growers must utilize different management practices to control the pest. References: February 18, 2022 | Avoiding Winter Kill in Young Vineyards Webinar Cal-West Rain Houston Wilson Landscape diversity and crop vigor influence biological control of the western grape leafhopper (Erythroneura elegantulaOsborn) in vineyards Review of Ecologically-based Pest Management in California Vineyards SIP Certified UC IPM Leafhoppers

Consumer demand for transparency and sustainability of their food system is leading to more and more agrochemical restrictions to address concerns for pollinators, noenicitinoids, and drift. Additionally, ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) investors are putting pressure on the chemical industry to improve their metrics. Pam Marrone, Founder and CEO of Marrone Bio Innovations outlines the market, status, and potential for biologicals in this excerpt from our 2020 Sustainable Ag Expo. Bringing a new pesticide to market can cost upwards of 300 million dollars and takes an average of 21 years. These challenges have big companies looking at new technologies like biologicals. Bringing a biological to market costs five to 10 million and can be accomplished in three to four years. Growers are seeing that using an integrated solution creates a better final product. Biologicals offer new modes of action, the ability to spray up until harvest, and short reentry times. Plus, they can allow growers to improve soil health and reduce greenhouse gasses. References: 87: Developing New Winegrape Varieties 94: Effective Vineyard Spraying (Rebroadcast) 122: Preserving Agriculture Land to Combat Climate Change Pesticidal natural products – status and future potential Marrone Bio SIP Certified Sustainable Ag Expo Tailgate | 1/14/2022 | Salinity 101 - Science and Management of Increasing Salinity in a Drier Climate

Maintaining agricultural land can be a solution to climate change. Renata Brillinger, Executive Director at California Climate & Agriculture Network (CalCAN), and her team are working to incentivize sustainable practices like composting, cover crops, and solar pumps at farms. They promote four grant programs that help farmers and ranchers have a positive impact on the planet and their bottom line. The first is to prevent urban sprawl by funding easements to maintain working farmland. The second is to increase on-farm water use efficiency which also reduces energy consumption. The third is to reduce methane emissions in livestock operations by collecting dry manure. And the fourth is to fund healthy soils programs to improve the organic content in soil and reduce the need for synthetic inputs. As of December 2022, there are more than 200 million dollars in grant funding coming online. It is important that farmers apply for funding not only to execute their own projects but to ensure that these programs continue to be funded in the future. References: 28: Understanding Soil Health California Climate & Agriculture Network (CalCAN) CalCAN Newsletter California's Healthy Soils Initiative SIP Certified State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program (SWEEP) Top 5 Soil Health Resources Get More Subscribe on Google Play, iHeartRADIO, iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, or wherever you listen so you never miss an episode on the latest science and research with the Sustainable Winegrowing Podcast. Since 1994, Vineyard Team has been your resource for workshops and field demonstrations, research, and events dedicated to the stewardship of our natural resources. Learn more at www.vineyardteam.org.

David R. Montgomery defines regenerative agriculture as leaving the land better off and more fertile as a consequence of cultivation. David studied geology at Stanford University before earning his Ph.D. in geomorphology at UC Berkeley. Today he teaches at the University of Washington where he studies the evolution of topography and how geological processes shape landscapes and influence ecological systems. In this research, he has defined three principles to build soil fertility; minimal disturbance, cover cropping and growing a diversity of crops. David has studied the success of these principles in agricultural systems around the world, from subsistence farmers to large commodity crops in North America. Healthy soils support more crop growth, have less erosion, and even look and smell healthier. The author of three books, David is a wealth of information on how soil life impacts plant productivity. References: 91: Carbon Sequestration (Podcast) @dig2grow (Twitter) Dig2Grow.com Floor Management for Soil Health Dirt the Erosion of Civilizations Growing a Revolution Sustainable Ag Expo SIP Certified The Hidden Half of Nature Get More Subscribe on Google Play, iHeartRADIO, iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, or wherever you listen so you never miss an episode on the latest science and research with the Sustainable Winegrowing Podcast. Since 1994, Vineyard Team has been your resource for workshops and field demonstrations, research, and events dedicated to the stewardship of our natural resources. Learn more at www.vineyardteam.org.

Imagine improving both the efficiency and safety of your team with autonomous drone vineyard spraying. That is exactly what David Goldfarb and the team at Clos de la Tech are trialing in their vine rows. Although this technology has been used in Japan for a number of years, it is new to the United States. Initially, they looked to drones as a way to scout for pests. Spraying was limited due to the small capacity of the machines. Then an advancement inspired by COVID stadium sanitation standards changed the game. A tethering system was created to attach the drone to a full-sized tank with a lightweight hose. Since FFA standards are still being written for drone spray applications, trials were conducted with water. The Clos de la Tech team found that coverage could be more than sufficient and they look forward to testing this technology more in the future. References: 51: Effective Vineyard Spraying Clos de la Tech Drone Technology to Spray Vineyards Gains Popularity Pesticide Application Technology at Cornell SIP Certified Sustainable Ag Expo Waste Not, Want Not!: Recent advances in technology for the precise spraying of pesticides (Video) Get More Subscribe on Google Play, iHeartRADIO, iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, or wherever you listen so you never miss an episode on the latest science and research with the Sustainable Winegrowing Podcast. Since 1994, Vineyard Team has been your resource for workshops and field demonstrations, research, and events dedicated to the stewardship of our natural resources. Learn more at www.vineyardteam.org.

The first pillar of any successful IPM (Integrated Pest Management Program) is to know the pest you want to manage. Emily Symmes, Entomologist and Technical Field Manager at Suterra, addresses the basics of vine mealybug (VMB) in grapes in this expert from the 2020 Sustainable Ag Expo. VMB are phloem eaters, piercing the trunk, canes, and berry clusters and vectoring leafroll-associated viruses. In high populations, they will weaken the vines and can cause vine decline and death. Their rapid development time and often overlapping generations make using selective pesticides challenging because multiple lifecycles are active at one time. Adding to the management challenge, VMB spread easily by machinery, workers, and birds. Proper species identification is vital to understand biologies and seasonal cycles of the VMB. Monitoring should be managed with both pheromone trapping and scouting throughout the year. Pheromone traps are most effective when placed at the vineyard entrance since VMB come in on machinery. Additional traps can be placed in the center of the block. Visual scouting should include looking for active VMB under the bark, in leaves, and in clusters, as well as signs of their existence including honeydew and ants. Listen in to learn more about VMB identification and management. References: 26: Controlling Mealybug Vectors of Grapevine Viruses 49: Stopping the Spread of Red Leaf Viruses An Important First Step in Biocontrol: Don't Kill the Good Insects Biology and Management of Mealybugs in Vineyards SIP Certified Sustainable Ag Expo Sustainable and Organic Control of Vine Mealybug in Vineyards: Two Growers, Two Approaches Suterra UC Pest Management Guidelines Vine Mealybug Vine Mealybug vs. Grape Mealybug Identification Get More Subscribe on Google Play, iHeartRADIO, iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, or wherever you listen so you never miss an episode on the latest science and research with the Sustainable Winegrowing Podcast. Since 1994, Vineyard Team has been your resource for workshops and field demonstrations, research, and events dedicated to the stewardship of our natural resources. Learn more at www.vineyardteam.org.

UV lamps have been used in the medical field, food processing, and sterilization for 75 years but application on plant disease management only began in the 1990s. UV light is a natural component of sunlight. The most harmful wavelengths like UVC are screened out by our ozone layer. DNA damaging UVB does reach the surface, however, most organisms can utilize blue light to repair the damage. David Gadoury, Plant Pathologist at Cornell University, is part of a large team of international researchers testing this technology on a variety of crops. Because there can be significant differences in environments, pest pressure, and times of year crops are impacted, it is important to trial this methodology globally. Powdery mildew microorganisms live in a sunlight-filled world so they use the sun's natural blue light to repair UV damage. More recently, scientists found that UV light for pest management is much more effective when used at night when microorganisms cannot employ the repair process. So far, trials have found that UV light is most effective against powdery mildews. In the best treatment scenarios, control is on par with the best available fungicides. And now, UV light treatments are being paired with autonomous robots, providing potentially even greater efficiencies to growers. References: 2: The Goldilocks Principle & Powdery Mildew Management 79: Grapevine Fungal Diseases CleanLight David Gadoury | mailto:[email protected] Light and Plant Health Robots armed with UV light fight grape mildew SAGA Robotics SIP Certified Sustainable Ag Expo Get More Subscribe on Google Play, iHeartRADIO, iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, or wherever you listen so you never miss an episode on the latest science and research with the Sustainable Winegrowing Podcast. Since 1994, Vineyard Team has been your resource for workshops and field demonstrations, research, and events dedicated to the stewardship of our natural resources. Learn more at www.vineyardteam.org.

How can values, beliefs, and attitudes around irrigation improve water efficiency? That is exactly what a recent California Department of Water Resources (DWR) grant project aimed to discover. Grant recipient, Vineyard Team, worked with 59 growers over three years to conduct irrigation-related behavior interviews, Distribution Uniformity evaluations, and determine if continued interaction (nudges) with the grower would increase the adoption of irrigation best management practices in vineyards. Every participant received a free DU and personalized report of recommendations so the researchers could track which improvements, like replacing plugged emitters, were implemented. Participants were divided into two groups, some with no contact beyond the initial DU test. The other half received regular nudges through phone calls and email calls to see if they had questions and to provide technical information. Listen in to learn how nudges change irrigation efficiency. References: 108: Using Satellite Data for Irrigation Scheduling 101: Sub-surface Micro-irrigation in Vineyards Drip Irrigation Systems: Common Problems and Fixes Irrigation Best Management Practices Irrigation System Maintenance Tips - English Irrigation System Maintenance Tips - Spanish Irrigation Playlist – YouTube SIP Certified Sustainable Ag Expo Get More Subscribe on Google Play, iHeartRADIO, iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, or wherever you listen so you never miss an episode on the latest science and research with the Sustainable Winegrowing Podcast. Since 1994, Vineyard Team has been your resource for workshops and field demonstrations, research, and events dedicated to the stewardship of our natural resources. Learn more at www.vineyardteam.org.

Plant SAP analysis gives farmers insight into how the plant can take up and mobilize nutrients. Traditional tissue testing is usually done at the top of the plant, sampling only the youngest leaves. SAP Analysis is actually a pair of tests, comparing nutrients in young and old leaves to see what is being taken up today and how the nutrients are moved around. Test results compare levels in young and old leaves across 24 different nutrients. One important comparison is Nitrogen efficiency, so the farmer can see how much Nitrogen is actually being taken up by the plant and calculate a cost analysis. Learn more about SAP Analysis and also some fascinating research about the relationship between silica, iron, and aluminum in grapevines. References: 72: Soil Microbes and Nutrient Availability 113: Microbial Inoculants for Soil Health Jenny Garley on LinkedIn Making Nitrogen & Potassium Fertilizer Decisions in the Vineyard NEWAGE Laboratories SIP Certified Sustainable Ag Expo Get More Subscribe on Google Play, iHeartRADIO, iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, or wherever you listen so you never miss an episode on the latest science and research with the Sustainable Winegrowing Podcast. Since 1994, Vineyard Team has been your resource for workshops and field demonstrations, research, and events dedicated to the stewardship of our natural resources. Learn more at www.vineyardteam.org.

Numerous vineyards have utilized sheep and goats for grazing but most only during the winter. Kelly Mulville was on a mission to design a vineyard for year-round grazing to restore the ecosystem with livestock. The challenge was to find a vineyard design where the animals could not eat the vines. In a partnership with Paicines Ranch in California, Kelley and the team utilized the Watson Training System which holds the cordon wire at 66 inches. The vineyard incorporated nine grape varieties and trialed year-round sheep grazing last summer with great success. Using the sheep will eliminate all suckering and tipping, dramatically reduce fertilization, decrease irrigation use, and lower labor costs. Listen in as Kelley explains the trial process for tips on how to set up your own vineyard for year-round grazing. References: 107: How Grazing Sheep Can Benefit Your Vineyard (Podcast) 113: Microbial Inoculants for Soil Health (Podcast) Grazing Vineyards Paicines Ranch Savory Holistic Management SIP Certified Sustainable Ag Expo Watson Training System for Bunch Wine Grapes Virtual Viticulture Academy Get More Subscribe on Google Play, iHeartRADIO, iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, or wherever you listen so you never miss an episode on the latest science and research with the Sustainable Winegrowing Podcast. Since 1994, Vineyard Team has been your resource for workshops and field demonstrations, research, and events dedicated to the stewardship of our natural resources. Learn more at www.vineyardteam.org.

A healthy soil has hundreds of different species of microbes while a depleted one may only have one dozen. A number of common viticulture practices are not conducive to a healthy soil biology so Dave Olson of Sustainable Growing Solutions is looking at how we can improve soil quality with microbes, ultimately improving plant quality. This process can be foliar with soil inoculations over time. Microbes do not colonize all at once so it important to add them over a period of time so that some will pave the way for others. Dave discusses the best time for applications and the importance of having an objective before trialing inoculants. References: 72: Soil Microbes and Nutrient Availability 112: How Deficit Irrigation Impacts Soil Quality David Olson | [email protected] | (916) 284-9706 SIP Certified Sustainable Growing Solutions (website coming soon) Top 5 Soil Health Resources Vineyard Team's 'Juan Navarez Memorial' Scholarship Water and Nitrogen Use Webinar Get More Subscribe on Google Play, iHeartRADIO, iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, or wherever you listen so you never miss an episode on the latest science and research with the Sustainable Winegrowing Podcast. Since 1994, Vineyard Team has been your resource for workshops and field demonstrations, research, and events dedicated to the stewardship of our natural resources. Learn more at www.vineyardteam.org.