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50 WINES&VINES June 2015 ASEV PREVIEW N itrogen will take center stage come June, when the American Society for Enology and Viticulture (ASEV) convenes its annual con- ference with the second Interna- tional Symposium on Nitrogen in Grapes and Wine. Drs. Amanda Stewart of Vir- ginia Tech and Christian Butzke from Purdue University developed this year's theme, which will re- visit the subject of nitrogen for the first time since the inaugural sym- posium 24 years ago. According to Butzke, the sym- posium is designed as a way to get winemakers up to speed on the latest science-based practical strategies. "I am imagining a TED talk-style format: Make it quick, concise and inspiring," he tells Wines & Vines. Winemaker Bruce Dukes of Naturaliste Vintners in Western Australia will discuss the use of nitrogen in a commercial winemak- ing environment, while Michikatsu Sato of Japan will discuss the effect of nitrogen on savory umami notes that are popular with wine drinkers from the Far East. "They're looking for descrip- tions that are different. Drink a glass of Brunello, consider the cured meat aromas, and you'll realize there is certainly a lot of stuff going on in high-end wines besides the raspberries and va- nilla you read about in the Wine Spectator," Butzke said. ASEV president Lise Asimont, the director of grower relations for Francis Ford Coppola Winery in Geyserville, Calif., tells Wines & Vines, "There was a great need for this, since 1991 was the last time we discussed (nitrogen) as a group." Asimont says ASEV is gearing the June 16 event—and its national conference in gen- eral—to be more applicable to members of the wine industry. She adds that many industry profes- sionals are "using old information without a review of what we're doing, so there is going to be some controversy" about the research presented at the symposium. "We really want to have peo- ple come and take some ideas home to their wineries, to their vineyards, and benefit from it, change practices if need be and feel happy that they know what's going on," Butzke says. National conference Asimont says the industry semi- nars promise to be another high- light of the June 15-18 conference. The June 17 winemaking industry seminar will focus on the influ- ence of malolactic fermentation on wine quality, with speakers discussing the impact ML has on wine sensory characteristics as well as color. The grapegrowing seminar that day will tackle crop estima- tion, with Chad Douglas of Che- halem winery and Kari Van Beek of Ste. Michelle Wine Estates speaking with associate professor Patty Skinkis from Oregon State University. The following day, June 18, Lucy Joseph from the University of California, Davis, will moder- ate a session about using microbes to meet your winemaking goals. One of the speakers, Paola Dom- izio, a scientist from the Univer- sity of Florence (Italy) who is currently a visiting researcher at UC Davis, will discuss the use of non-Saccharomyces yeasts for fermentation. The grapegrowing session being held concurrently will focus on precision viticulture and feature Chad Vargas, vineyard manager at Adelsheim Vineyard in the Willamette Valley. Tasting sessions will be held both days, with panelists repre- senting wines from Chateau Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, Erath Winery and ROCO Winery. Outreach seminar The brainchild of Mark Chien, program coordinator for the Or- egon Wine Research Institute, the outreach seminar is designed to be "a combination of academia, industry and outreach applied," according to Asimont. The 2.5-hour session aims to explain how to achieve balanced vines and wines in a variety of cli- mates. For example, research sci- entist Pat Bowen of the Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre in Sum- merland, B.C., will cover vine bal- ance in areas with short growing seasons and cold winters, while Jim Harbertson of Washington State University will discuss bal- ancing tannins in warm climates. Other topics for the outreach seminar include water relations and irrigation management as well as canopy management. Register for the ASEV National Conference and related events at asev.org/2015-national-confer- ence. ASEV Revisits Nitrogen National conference in Portland, Ore., seeks to provide wine industry with latest research By Kate Lavin TOUR THE COLUMBIA GORGE Mark Chien will lead participants on a day of vineyard and winery visits June 15. The tour, which can accommodate 30 people and costs $50 including transportation and lunch, will stop at Colum- bia Gorge sites including Mt. Hood Winery, Garnier Vineyards, Syncline Winery and Multnomah Falls, a 620-foot waterfall along the Columbia River. To join the tour, select it during registration for the ASEV National Conference. Register at asev.org/2015- national-conference.