US: Research Symposium in Pennsylvania

(Wines&Vines) - Grape and wine research in the East extends beyond Cornell University and Virginia Tech. Funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s crop order, which assesses a 15-cents-per-gallon fee on all wine produced and sold in the state, the Pennsylvania Wine Marketing and Research Program supports research and marketing efforts that benefit all state wineries.

The program’s research committee provides funds for the USDA NE-1020 wine grape variety trials and grape pathology research at Penn State’s Fruit Research and Extension Center in Biglerville, Pa., and the Lake Erie regional grape lab as well as experimental wine trials conducted by state enologist Denise Gardner. On May 22, the program collaborated with the Penn State Extension to hold a research symposium in State College, Pa., that brought winegrowers and winemakers together to learn about the latest research that is advancing the wine industry as well as improving productivity and quality.

According to Mark Chien, viticulture educator with Penn State Cooperative Extension, conducting wine grape trials in Pennsylvania is not an easy task, given the diversity of climates across the state, which range from USDA regions 5a to 7b and growing degree-day regions from 1 to 4. Like most non-western states, the grape landscape is complicated by native, hybrid and vinifera varieties that are made into every conceivable style of wine.