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APRIL NEWS Grant recipients detail projects in progress D avis, Calif.—Scientists gave 15-minute presentations about research they are conducting related to wine and wine grapes during a daylong conference held Feb. 21 at the University of California, Davis. The researchers received funding from one of the agencies that participate in the Unified Grant Management for Viticulture and Enology program (UGMVE). Ken Shackel of UC Davis' Department of Plant Sciences discussed grape cracking or splitting, which many winemakers and vineyard managers believe is caused by excess watering near harvest. Many growers reduce late-season irrigation to prevent this problem, which also may partially dehydrate grapes and increase sugar concentration. Shackel discovered the reverse is true: The biggest cause of cracking is cutting back on water near harvest. James Kennedy of CSU Fresno described a study into the influence of grape and wine production practices on tannin extractability and activity. Specifically, the concentration of tannins doesn't accurately reflect the resulting taste: Some tannins exhibit bitterness, others astringency. Cooler growing areas encourage astringency. The source of the tannins affects that quality; Kennedy is working on tools that would help growers predict the impact. Andy Walker of UC Davis talked about his grape rootstock-breeding programs. American Society for Enology and Viticulture 64th ASEV National Conference difolia, the southern Muscadine family like Scuppernong, which has very high resistance to fanleaf virus as well as phylloxera. Research is also being conducted with inserting genes from resistant rootstocks into Thompson seedless and St. George vines. —Paul Franson a platform for progress June 24–28, 2013 Portola Hotel and Monterey Conference Center Monterey, California USA special events Merit Award Presentation – Dr. Jim Wolpert, University of California, Davis Rootstock Symposium Tannin Symposium Research Reports Industry Seminars Walker's hybrid GRN-1 rootstock has high disease resistance since it's half Vitis rotun- 64 s c i e n c e s i x t y f ou r t h national conference Visit our website for registration and program information. www.asev.org 530-753-3142 Scan the QR code with your smartphone for conference details. JOIN NOW AND SAVE! Member pre-registration fees are up to 50% lower than non-member fees. Win es & V i n es A PRI L 20 13 21