2023 Meetings

Friday, March 3, 1:00-3:00pm – in person at 3P Vineyard in Soquel

Storm Preparedness and Damage Recovery, Plus Funding for Vineyard Conservation Practices

– with Rich Casale and Drew Mather, NRCS

We have had some fierce storms, a lot of rain and high winds, in the past couple of months. Rich Casale and Drew Mather of the local NRCS office (Santa Cruz County) will address:

– storm preparedness;

– what to do (and not to do) in an emergency if you experience storm damage

– storm damage recovery practices and/or strategies;

– and NRCS/Farm Service financial and technical assistance programs throughout the year for conservation and other management practices.

You may have had trees uprooted on your property that have compromised soil retention, drainage or erosion issues, etc. And if not yet then it will still be good to know what to do to avoid and address in the future. Plus, you’ll find out about some valuable funding assistance through the NRCS for a wide range of conservation practices, of which some of our growers have benefited from over the years.

If you have particular damage issues that you are interested to have addressed during the program you can email Rich ahead of time at richcasale3@gmail.com .

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Monday, Jan. 23, 2:00pm PST – NO CHARGE, ON ZOOM  

with Fritz Westover, Virtual Vineyard Advising

–  Preparing for the 2023 Vintage; Pruning Refresher, Impacts of Heavy Winter Rains, Adapting Vineyard Practices for Heat Waves

This program will focus on preparing for the upcoming vintage. Fritz will address the impact of heavy rains such as we have had recently. And he will also talk about adapting your practices anticipating heat waves, such as we experienced last year, and in prior years, at harvest time. This program will be packed with valuable practical advice that you can apply in your vineyards. 

The program will include:

– A pruning refresher.

– The effect of saturated soils on nutrients and uptake; vine nutrition

– Canopy management – impact of high rainfall, etc., pruning

– Preparing for heat waves

About Fritz Westover:
Fritz Westover is Viticulturist and owner of Westover Vineyard Advising, based in Houston, Texas. Fritz obtained his BS in horticulture and MS in Plant Pathology from Penn State University. He specializes in vineyard consulting for over 1,500 acres of vineyard and is active in research and education in the south and southeastern US, drawing from more than 20 years of experience in the vineyard industry including extension and outreach positions in Virginia, Texas, and California, including the Vineyard Team on the Central Coast. Fritz contributes to wine industry educational programs in several states and is founder of Virtual Viticulture Academy, a leading resource for practical grape growing information for all levels of winegrape production. He can be reached by email at Fritz@VirtualViticultureAcademy.com, at his website www.VirtualViticultureAcademy.com

To serve the common interests of all Santa Cruz Mountains appellation winegrape producers, and to enhance the quality, profitability and reputation of winegrape production in the appellation through promotion and education.