Education & Research
Oregon Wine Board Education Program
Our legislation mandates we offer the level of viticultural and enological educational services that enable Oregon producers to grow and vinify among the highest quality wines in the world. We achieve this through a coordinated effort with extension and contracted specialists, and deliver relevant and thoughtful information at our annual conference, the Oregon Wine Industry Symposium (OWIS) and year-round through statewide and regional workshops.
Oregon State University – Extension Service
The OSU Viticulture and Enology program delivers research, extension and teaching programs that enhance Oregon’s regional, national and international reputation in grape and wine quality while considering grower and winemaker profitability and environmentally sustainable production practices. Go to wine.oregonstate.edu for more information on their programs and resources.
eViticulture (http://eviticulture.org) is a national online viticulture resource containing the latest science-based information for viticulturists. This resource, created by the Grape Community of Practice (GCoP), is directed toward commercial viticulturists who need solid, tested, science-based information to improve their skills in the vineyard.
Monthly Newsletter: OSU’s monthly viticulture and enology newsletter is available here.
Publications: Additionally, Extension faculty at Oregon State University have put together useful publications on topics of interest to Oregon winegrape growers. Click here to access these publications.
Collaborative Research Funding Approach
The Oregon Wine Board has historically provided grant research support to Oregon State University and independent researchers. For 2010-2011, the Board awarded $240,000 in grants for enological and viticultural research. Additionally, central to our partnerships with research communities nationwide is the Unified Grant Management for Viticulture and Enology System, a database that coordinates grant application submissions and review among multiple funding agencies. This allows us to not only fund research that is of the highest priority to our industry, but also share costs with other agencies who might also benefit. Additional synergies exist with the Northwest Center for Small Fruits and the Foundation Block in Prosser, where we have committed research dollars to support efforts to provide virus-tested, virus-free commercial grape cultivars grapevine for the Northwest wine industry – a key component to our continued success as an industry. We also look ahead to potential collaborations with the research communities in California, Washington and Idaho.
Click here to see recent research grant reports.