Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/513570
8 WINES&VINES June 2015 A member of Wine Communications Group Inc. President & Publisher Chet Klingensmith Chairman Hugh Tietjen Publishing Consultant Ken Koppel Associate Publisher Tina Vierra Publishing Assistant Maria Brunn EDITORIAL Editor Jim Gordon Managing Editor Kate Lavin Associate Editor Andrew Adams Senior Correspondent Paul Franson Contributing Editor Jane Firstenfeld Northwest Correspondent Peter Mitham Columnists Grapegrowing: Cliff Ohmart and Glenn T. McGourty Contributing Writers Laurie Daniel, Richard Smart, Richard Carey, Chris Stamp, Andrew Reynolds, Craig Root PRACTICAL WINERY & VINEYARD Editor Don Neel WINE EAST Editor Linda Jones McKee DESIGN & PRODUCTION Art Director Barbara Gelfand Summer Designer Bridget Williams DATABASE DEVELOPMENT AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Vice President—Data Management Lynne Skinner Project Manager Liesl Stevenson Database & Web Development James Rust, Peter Scarborough EDITOR'S LETTER AS YOU OPEN THIS ISSUE, grapegrowers around the state of California will, we hope, be meeting the June 10 extended deadline to vote on the referendum to renew funding for grape- vine disease research. We had assumed that the renewal would be a slam-dunk. Why wouldn't growers vote to renew a program that has successfully fought off diseases and vectors including Pierce's disease and the European grapevine moth while actually lowering the levy's price per ton in recent years to 75 cents? It's not clear why, but apparently large numbers of growers either do not support the renewal—which, we repeat, will not be a new tax—or they simply procrastinated about returning the paper ballots. The California Department of Food and Agriculture has extended the voting deadline until June 10 since the required participation had not reached the 40% mark needed for legiti- macy by May 8. Small price to pay The referendum is called the Pierce's disease/glassy-winged sharpshooter (PD/GWSS) assessment, but the funds are now also being used against other diseases and pests. We recommended in this space in the April issue that grapegrowers vote in favor of the renewal, and we still do. It's a very small price to pay for a very effective research, outreach and control program. To get a better grasp on how much the PD/GWSS funding is needed, please read the Vineyard View column by Cliff Ohmart on page 28. Ohmart did some research of his own to see how much public grape research funding is available in California and how this stacks up to other fruit industries in the state and in Australia. Would you believe that California almonds get 50% more money, and that Australian wine grapes get 25 times more? Enology & viticulture Believe it or not, this is the 66th annual Enology & Viticulture issue of Wines & Vines, so named because June is the month for the national conference of the American Society for Enology and Viticulture (see page 50 for details). Wines & Vines has attended and supported the ASEV gather- ing since its beginning. There is lots of enology and viticulture coverage elsewhere in the issue. One viticulture con- tribution is a Viewpoint piece by Cornell University's Tim Martinson (page 31) that advocates for a change in the way grapevine material is certified for use in the United States. Another is an extremely practical piece by Fritz Westover (page 63) about specifically where to place soil moisture sensors in the vineyard. Enology is the theme of two articles in the Practical Winery & Vineyard section. On page 52, learn how to manage nutrition of wine bacteria to aid malolactic fermentation using advice from enologists in France, Germany and Macedonia. The other (page 57) is by professor Linda Bisson and a team at the University of California, Davis, about the challenges of difficult-to- ferment juices. No room is left to point you to all the other news and how-to articles in the issue, but as you turn the pages you will find them. We hope you have a great month of June, and (if you are eligible) don't forget to vote! —Jim Gordon Don't Miss the Chance to Vote for Sensible Research Seventy-five cents per ton is a very small price to pay for a very effective research, outreach and control program. CONTACT US SUBSCRIPTIONS Email: subs@winesandvines.com Online: winesandvines.com/subscribe Phone: (866) 453-9701 EDITORIAL Email: edit@winesandvines.com MAIL 65 Mitchell Blvd., Suite A San Rafael, CA 94903 CONNECT WITH US facebook.com/WinesandVines twitter.com/WinesandVines youtube.com/WinesandVines1919