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GLENN MCGOURT Y Grounded Grapegrowing How Organic Growers Changed Viticulture different farming system used by growers who have now certified more than 11,000 organic acres under the USDA's National Organic Program. What was strikingly dif- T he recent publication of the "Organic Winegrowing Manu- al" (see page 19 in this issue for details about UC ANR Publica- tion 3511) reminds me how the path unfolded to develop this ferent from other emerging farming tech- nologies was that information transfer was truly farmer to farmer. Often, new technology is developed at a land grant university or a USDA lab by a chemical or equipment manufacturer or other commercial interest that then introduces new information to the grower community via grower meetings, Cooperative Extension or other similar techniques. Ultimately, growers adopt the new ideas and then share information at the coffee shop or other gathering places, and the knowledge is adopted. Organic winegrowing was a bit different. In the late 1980s, when I started working with potential organic growers, there were less than 500 acres of certified organic vineyards in California. Most of these properties were in the North Coast region. The people organically farming vines were inspired by and learned from older growers who had farmed before the days of modern pesticides, chemical fertilizers, herbicides and fungicides. In their head- pruned vineyards, the old timers relied on tillage to control weeds and sulfur dust to control mildew. Most older growers didn't appear to pay much attention to soil conditions Join us as wineries from around the world come to Anderson Valley to celebrate your passion for aromatic whites! FEBRUARY 18-19, 2012 BOONVILLE, CALIFORNIA Technical Conference | 9:00am – 12:00pm Cooking Demo with Food Network star, Chef Beau MacMillan 12:00pm to 12:30pm Grand Tasting | 1:00 to 4:00pm Winemakers Dinner | 6:30pm Sunday, February 19 | Winery Open Houses Visit avwines.com for event details & tickets 707-895-WINE Trade & Press Inquiries: info@avwines.com 66 Wines & Vines FeBRUARY 2012