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24 Wines&Vines January 2015 wine industry news C orvallis, Ore.—Six months after Mark Chien stepped into the role of program coordinator at the Oregon Wine Research Institute, the new shape of the organization is coming into focus. Chien was appointed to serve as a facilitator for the institute's activi- ties rather than the director, taking his lead from the Oregon Wine Board's Oregon Wine Industry Standing Committee on Research. The standing committee includes representation from industry and Oregon State University faculty. Some initial signs of the newly reinvigorated institute are the prepa- rations to plant an additional 2 acres at the 26-acre Woodhall Vineyard property near Alpine, a 40-minute drive south of Corvallis. The prop- erty is currently home to 3.5 acres of vines, including a limited planting of Chardonnay clone 108. The institute now plans "sig- nificant upgrades" and improve- ments that include a new deer fence, septic field and research and teaching purposes facility. The new acreage—primarily Pinot Noir—will allow explora- tions of the relationship between vine spacing and canopy density. "It would hopefully shed some light on the most efficient photo- synthetic canopy configuration for achieving optimal fruit maturity," Chien said. While remote, the vineyard has the potential to produce top-notch Pinot Noir. "There have been questions over the years about whether that was a site that was representative of what Oregon can do, and whether it was worth doing re- search there," Chien said. But hav- ing tasted the wine Matt Compton of Spindrift Cellars in Philomath, Ore., has made from the site during the past decade, Chien is convinced that the vineyard can yield the kind of grapes researchers need. "There's some excellent fruit coming off of that vineyard—not just for research but for commer- cial winemaking," he said. "The quality of the wines Matt is pro- ducing at Spindrift validates the worthiness of the site." Research plans for the new block have been proposed by Paul Schreiner of the USDA-Agricultural Research Service and OSU associ- ate professor and viticulture exten- sion specialist Patty Skinkis. The greater control will also require management, and while long-time vineyard manager Scott Robbins is remaining in place, Chien said the research institute's budget would allow a research manager to be hired. "It will really be their job to execute the intentions of the re- searchers," he said. "That should happen, hopefully, either next year, or the year after." — Peter Mitham Oregon Wine Institute Plans Vineyard Expansion The view south from the top of OSU's Woodhall Vineyard looks across the Alpine valley about 30 miles south of Oregon State University, Corvallis. LARRY PRIBYL