State of Winegrowing in Oregon; the Enduring Oregon Wine Grape Grower | Estado de la viticultura en Oregon, el viticultor permanente de Oregon
Water availability and proper irrigation are key factors for success in battling increasing drought conditions in Oregon vineyards. Hear from three experts in the industry on key water and irrigation issues and their importance to vine health. Chad Vargas will explain how to evaluate your soil’s water holding capacity which can help determine when irrigation will be necessary. Alec Levin will share the results of a 2021 industry water survey showing regional importance of practice and cover how to develop a simple water budget for proper irrigation delivery. Research on long-term water stress effects will be presented by Gregory Gambetta from the Bordeaux region of France where common maladies like trunk disease and vine decline are being linked to the effects of long-term water stress.
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Speaker Bios
Dr. Alexander (Alec) Levin is a viticulturist at the Southern Oregon Research and Extension Center (SOREC) and assistant professor in the Department of Horticulture at Oregon State University. He also is a core faculty member of the Oregon Wine Research Institute (OWRI), and serves as the chair of the Grape Genetics, Physiology and Management working group in the International Society for Horticultural Science. Dr. Levin completed his Ph.D. in horticulture and agronomy at UC Davis investigating physiological differences in drought responses among several red wine grape cultivars. Since 2016, he has been leading the Southern Oregon viticulture research and extension program at SOREC, located in the heart of the Rogue Valley. Dr. Levin conducts applied viticultural research focused in the fields of grapevine water relations and ecophysiology, and vineyard irrigation management. His ultimate research goals are to develop sustainable vineyard management practices tailored to production goals.
Chad Vargas is co-owner and president of NewGen Vineyard Services and Advantage Vines in Dayton, Oregon. His experience in winegrowing has its roots in Napa and Sonoma, but in 2006 he was offered an opportunity to move to Oregon and lead Adelsheim Vineyard’s grape production team, which he did for 10 years. In 2017, he formed NewGen Vineyard Services with his business partner, offering his customers competitive management and pest control solutions. For the past three seasons, Chad has had many opportunities to diagnose and recommend best practices for trunk disease in the Willamette Valley and has developed a new respect for how devastating the problem can be.
Gregory Gambetta is a professor of viticulture working at the agricultural graduate school (Bordeaux Sciences Agro) and the Institut des Sciences de la Vigne et du Vin (ISVV) in Bordeaux, France. He received his PhD from UC Davis while working in the department of Viticulture and Enology and has worked for over 15 years as an industrial and academic researcher in the U.S., Mexico, Italy, and France. His research on grapevine adaptation to drought and the impact of environment on winegrape ripening is internationally recognized. Through his work Greg has been recognized as a Fulbright scholar, National Science Foundation award recipient, and California Council on Science and Technology fellow.
