Taste Washington is Coming…
March 3, 2009 by Doug Haugen
Filed under Blog
Last night, we were invited by the Washington Wine Commission to a preview event for Taste Washington., the annual keynote event of theirs. If you’ll recall, we attended Taste last year, and quickly discovered that for wine lovers, it’s like being five years old and walking into your first Toys ‘R’ Us. This year promises to be even better than the last. More wineries (over 200!), more restaurants (over 60!), and now vineyards!
Seriously, it’s a great idea. The WWC has invited vineyards to participate, each pouring selected wines that were made from their grapes. For an event that’s such a large tribute to Washington Wine, it only makes sense that the vineyards are included, because as some say, “Great wine is made in the vineyard.”
We’re so excited about Taste, we’ll be talking more about it in the upcoming weeks. Let the countdown begin.
Sensors May Speed Detection of Sick Grapevines
PROSSER, Wash. – In the not too distant future, grape growers may be able to detect virus-infected grapevines in the field using a portable sensor that evaluates changes in the light reflecting properties of leaves. The sensor will speed detection and save money now spent in random testing to find infected vines.
Grapes are susceptible to numerous diseases. One of the most baffling is grapevine leafroll, a complex malady associated with about nine viruses. It can delay ripening, reduce yields by 50 percent or more and harm fruit quality. Once infected, vines cannot be treated. The disease can be eradicated only by pulling and replacing the vines, an expensive proposition.
