Dr. Patti Skinkis conducts applied research and provides outreach and education programs for the Oregon wine grape industry. Her research program focuses on applied viticulture and whole plant physiology studies designed to understand causes and management of vine vigor/vine balance and impacts on fruit composition and wine quality. Her research also includes work on yield (from bud fruitfulness to crop thinning and vine balance), fine-tuning canopy management methods, sustainable viticulture production, and understanding factors that drive industry production decision-making. As Extension Specialist, Patty develops educational programs and informational publications. Her outreach efforts include bringing industry members together in technical groups to foster information exchange between industry and academics. She also teaches undergraduate and graduate level viticulture courses at Oregon State University. Her efforts expand beyond Oregon, as she is a member of the National Clean Plant Network – Grapes Advisory Board, is an associated editor for the American Journal of Enology and Viticulture and Catalyst Journal, and served as a board member and executive board member of the American Society for Enology and Viticulture

Bree Stock, is a Master of Wine specializing in wine education development, joined the Oregon Wine Board in April 2017. Bree is Australian-born with over two decades of international experience in the wine industry in  Canada, the US and Australia. Her wine career began in Canada with sommelier and buying roles in Vancouver and Nova Scotia. In Australia, she has held key account sales and brand management positions with Australia’s family owned DeBortoli Wines and was director of sales and buying with The Spanish Acquisition, a premium Spanish and Portuguese wine importer.

An independent wine industry management consultant since 2008 specializing in education program development and sensory training and certified WSET educator since 2008 and Master of Wine since 2016, she lectures across all levels of the WSET certification and produces wine education programs for both trade organizations and consumers in Canada, the US and Australia. Extensive travels and wine judging through the wine regions of the Mediterranean, Central and Eastern Europe, the US, South Africa, and Australia have informed her market presentations and writings for wine publications Alquimie, Hardie Grant and Gourmet Traveler Wine, as have consulting vintage positions in Australia, Austria, Georgia, Portugal and Oregon