Climate Report, Vintage Review, and an Analysis of Alternative Grape Varieties
As viticulturists navigate the challenges of a changing climate, this session offers valuable insights into what’s happening now and considerations for the future. Dr. Greg Jones will deliver his highly anticipated overview of the Oregon climate conditions in the past year, share projections for the year ahead, and discuss long-term impacts on the industry. Jessica Dunnam will provide a grower’s perspective on the 2024 vintage. Finally, Brian Skahill will give an analysis of alternative grape varieties suited to Oregon’s changing conditions.
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Speaker Bios
Greg Jones, CEO, Abacela
Greg is a world-renowned atmospheric scientist and wine climatologist, having held research and teaching positions at the University of Virginia, Southern Oregon University, Linfield University, and as an adjunct professor at the University of Adelaide. For over twenty-five years his research has firmly linked weather and climate with grapevine growth, fruit chemistry, and wine characteristics in regions all around the globe. His work was also one of the first to tie climate change to fundamental biological phenomena in vines and the resulting influences on productivity and quality. His groundbreaking work has informed and influenced the wine industry across the globe. Greg also has lifelong ties to the Oregon wine community, most closely with his family winery and vineyards at Abacela where Greg was appointed CEO in 2021. To find out more about his research and access videos, podcasts, and publications visit this website (www.climateofwine.com)
Jessica Dunnam, Senior Viticulturist, Results Partners LLC
Originally from the Midwest, Jessica obtained a bachelor’s degree in biology from Baylor University. After a stint teaching high school biology out in Rhode Island, she moved west to pursue her passion around plant science and wine by obtaining a graduate degree from UC Davis in viticulture and enology. Since then, Jessica has pursued a career in wine grape growing in Oregon vineyards. Initially working harvests in the Columbia Gorge and Willamette Valley, Jessica started with Results Partners as an Assistant Viticulturist in 2018 and was promoted to Viticulturist and then Senior Viticulturist since that time. She is incredibly grateful to work with a talented and energetic viticulture team at RP, which enriches her daily work. She is personally passionate about extracting meaningful information from a data driven approach to farming.
Jessica sits on the Oregon Wine Board Research Committee, Chardonnay Technical Tasting Committee, and serves as a reviewer for the Specialty Crop Research Initiative program within the USDA. Outside of interests in viticulture and wine, she is excited by adventures in the outdoors, including rock climbing and backpacking.
Brian Skahill, Student / Hydrologist, Chemeketa Community College
Brian Skahill has graduate degrees in applied math and engineering and is a certified professional hydrologist. For several years, he’s been taking courses on a part-time basis in the Wine Studies program at Chemeketa Community College and is close to completing an associate degree in Vineyard Management. While studying at Chemeketa Eola, together with Bryan Berenguer, Program Chair of the Vineyard Management degree at Chemeketa Community College, and Professor Manfred Stoll, Head of the Department of General and Organic Viticulture at Hochschule Geisenheim University, Brian has published applied research evaluating the impacts of climate change to viticulture in peer reviewed journals and presented related works at national and international conferences. He has also successfully completed the Wine Scholar Guild’s Italian Wine Scholar program.
Megan Hall (moderator), Assistant Professor of Practice, Wine Studies, Linfield College
Dr. Megan Hall is an Assistant Professor of Practice in Wine Studies at Linfield University. Megan is originally from Oregon and got her start in the wine industry as a student in Chemeketa Community College’s vineyard management program. She worked for Rex Hill/A to Z Wineworks, Tukwilla Vineyards, and R. Stuart & Co. before focusing her attention on grapevine diseases. Megan earned her Ph.D. in Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology at Cornell University, where her research focused on the etiology and management of sour rot. She subsequently joined the faculty at the University of Missouri as the Viticulture Program Leader and Assistant Research Professor, where her research continued on late-season bunch rots and applied research on grape diseases, after which she joined GALLO as a Research Scientist in Healdsburg, CA. In 2022, she returned to her home state, where she joined Linfield’s rapidly growing Wine Studies department as an Assistant Professor of Practice.
