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JUNE NEWS Jess Jackson Dies at 81 G The 1.1-acre Petite Sirah vineyard block at UC Davis is planted adjacent to the Department of Viti- culture & Enology as well as the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science. Petite Sirah Research Takes Shape Bogle donation enabled planting at UC Davis Sirah clones is in its second growing season at the University of California, Davis. The first small crop is anticipated for evalua- tion in 2012. The 1.1-acre block is part of a 12.5-acre vineyard adjacent to the UC Davis Department of Viticulture & Enol- ogy offices as well as a new teaching and research winery at the Robert Mondavi In- stitute for Wine and Food Science. UC Davis viticulture extension specialist D Dr. Jim Wolpert and research viticultur- ist Mike Anderson manage the project. The late Patty Bogle of Bogle Vineyards in Clarksburg, Calif., a major Petite Sirah producer, donated $30,000 in seed money for planting and project startup. Through her involvement with the Petite Sirah ad- vocacy group P.S. I Love You, Bogle also organized a fundraising event that pro- vided another $6,000 in project funding. "This would never be here without Patty. She's personally responsible for every dol- lar donated to date," Wolpert said. P.S. I Love You executive director Jo Diaz is organizing a campaign to obtain dona- tions and sponsorships to provide long- term funding for research and to erect a sign at the vineyard in honor of Bogle. Diaz said, "I want a sign there that says 'Patty Bogle Petite Sirah Heritage Vineyard.' 22 Wines & Vines JUne 2011 avis, Calif.—A research vineyard block planted to compare character- istics of traditional California Petite This was her passion, her baby; it deserves to have her name." The project was originally envisioned to be similar to the Zinfandel Advocates & Producers Zinfandel Heritage Vine- yard. However, as Wolpert explained, "We looked at older Petite Sirah vineyards, and most had material that was already at UC Davis Foundation Plant Services (FPS)." The original Zinfandel Heritage Block was planted with old clonal material direct from growers' vineyards. Half of this was later found to have viruses, which com- promised the trial's data and presented the danger of spreading virus to healthy vines. Learning from that experience, the Pe- winesandvines.com Learn more: Search keywords "Petite Sirah research." tite Sirah block is planted exclusively with virus-free, registered selections from FPS. Any potential new Petite Sirah clones will first go through virus elimination and reg- istration at FPS. Rootstock for the trial block, 420A, was planted in 2009. Five FPS clones were grafted onto the rootstock in spring 2010. All five clones are in each row, and the block has five replicated trial plots of three rows each, with 47 to 52 vines in each row. The block is drip-irrigated and on a modi- fied vertical-shoot-positioned (VSP) trellis with T-top stakes to provide the option of spreading the canopy at the top for sun protection in Davis' Central Valley climate. —Jon Tourney eyserville, Calif.—Jess Stonestreet Jackson, maverick founder of one of California's largest family-owned wineries, lawyer, philanthropist, racehorse owner and former longshoreman and police officer, died at his Geyserville home April 21 at age 81, after a long battle with cancer. His family-owned and run winemaking empire, Jackson Family Wines, now en- compasses 35 wineries around the world, including 20 individual U.S. brands pro- ducing almost 5 million cases annually. In 2009 Jackson was inducted to the Vintners Hall of Fame. Over the years, Jackson and his wife, Barbara Banke, have donated millions of dollars to support charitable organiza- tions, wine education and research. Ear- lier this year, the University of California, Davis, announced the Jacksons' donation of $3 million for a new facility to develop sustainable production techniques. Despite a high profile and well-known propensity for litigation that made him a controversial figure within the industry, he was an aggressive supporter of the environment, backing green endeavors including a wine shipping company that utilizes hybrid trucks to deliver Jackson Family and other wines, a massive, LEED-certified wine shipping hub in Napa County and a bottle-renewal facility to re-use, rather than recycle, wine bottles. —Wines & Vines Staff winesandvines.com Learn more: Search keywords "Jess Jackson." JON TOURNEY