Vit & Eno Research Committee Membership Criteria
The information below outlines expectations of members of the OWB’s Viticulture & Enology Research Committee.
If Research Committee service is of interest, please complete the form at the bottom of the page. Applications will be considered by the Steering Committee in November each year for service the following year.
See rosters and leadership for all OWB committees
Introduction to the Research Committee
The Oregon Wine Board Research Committee has been around as long as the life of the Oregon Wine Board, as well as the many iterations of the Board prior to its current organizational structure. Few could argue the importance of this committee as it relates to its work both in the past and toward the future in elevating the quality of Oregon wines in the global wine marketplace.
This committee sets the priorities, posing the difficult questions we must ask in the hopes that a world of brave researchers will respond to the call, and together we seek the answers. This committee determines the allocation of the tax dollars provided by our industry as earmarked by the Oregon Wine Board to advance our production practices through scientific research.
Will our wines remain at the top in this competitive wine world without continuing research into improving our quality? Research is can discover the pathways to coping with the effects of climate change, shortages in labor, diminishing natural resources – these threats drive us to develop sustainable practices we can apply in our business. We will research our way to a deeper knowledge base, a deeper understanding of these threats and solutions to potential problems.
Read the formal committee charter
JOIN US!
Committee membership criteria
- Resident of Oregon or a shared AVA border state
- Currently working in the Oregon wine industry either in a viticulture or enology role
- Have at least 4 years experience working in viticulture or enology, with at least 2 of those in Oregon
- Show an appreciation for and understanding of the scientific process
- Be willing to participate actively during in-person meetings and via email
- Be able to read and understand the format of scientific papers, abstracts, technical journals
Please note, this is a volunteer position of leadership – no financial compensation is available.
Member required duties
- Annually attend 2 full-day, in-person or online meetings, which are typically held in Corvallis:
- Spring: Grant Application Review and Funding Meeting
- August: Progress Update Meeting
- Actively participate in reviewing grant applications:
- Review assigned grant applications. Applications will be assigned by the Steering Committee and will align with your focus in either viticulture or enology. Please come forward with potential conflicts of interest you may have with assignments.
- Become trained on and adhere to the adhere to the OWB V&E Research Proposal Review Guide
- The estimated time commitment for the average reviewer is 10 hours (2 hrs per project assignment) in addition to meetings, concentrated in late winter / early spring.
Lead reviewer required duties
For volunteer veteran V&E Research Committee members and accelerated new members you will be assigned as a Lead Reviewer for at least 1 specific project in your area of focus. For each assigned project, duties for Lead Reviewers are as follows:
- Develop an in depth understanding of the project proposal.
- Write a summary of the project describing the work (pros and cons if any) and reviewers’ assessment, including co-reviewer comments, project benefits and shortcomings, and an evaluation of the project’s applicability to Oregon grape growing or winemaking. This is to be submitted to OWB prior to the spring application review meeting.
- Provide a verbal introduction to the assigned project in the spring Application Review meeting. By default, a Lead Reviewer will continue to be assigned to a recurring application.
- Act as Lead Reviewer/Industry liaison for the project lifecycle. As a lead reviewer you are neither an advocate nor a critic but rather a neutral evaluator of your assigned project(s). You will be tasked with tracking this research as it remains funded by OWB and is reported to the industry. This could be 4-10 years.
- For previously funded projects seeking continuing funds you will be asked to retain a fresh perspective on the project as it evolves. This is mainly done by reviewing progress reports submitted by researcher during the grant funding process, but also by maintaining contact with the researcher for ad hoc updates.
- Check in with the review team and make sure people are keeping up with their assigned projects.
- Monitor for conflict of interest among assignees on lead review projects.
- Mentor new committee members through the review process as required.
- The estimated additional time commitment for Lead Reviewers will depend on the number and status of assigned projects.
