EVERETT, Wash. — According to the Puget Sound Wine Growers Association, conditions in the region are ideal for growing delicate vinifera wine grape varieties and more vineyards are being planted all the time.
Washington State University Snohomish County Extension is presenting two hands-on workshops on proper vineyard care for west side grape growers.
A workshop on winter vineyard care will be presented on Saturday, Feb. 5, from 10 am to 2 pm. Topics will include dormant season care, pruning, vine training, nutrient management, planting dormant versus winter grafting, irrigation and weed control.
A second workshop on spring and summer vineyard care will be presented on Saturday, May 14, from 10 am to 2 pm. Topics will include canopy and crop load management, managing shoots, enhancing yield and quality, and managing pests including powdery mildew and botrytis.
Both workshops will be held at The Vineyard at Lee Farms near Sylvana and will include a catered box lunch. The cost for each workshop is $65 per person.
To register for the Feb. 5 winter workshop visit www.BrownPaperTickets.com/event/136786
To register for the May 14 spring and summer workshop, visit www.BrownPaperTickets.com/event/136802
The registration form also can be downloaded at http://snohomish.wsu.edu/ag/workshops/Viticulture2011.pdf and mailed in with your check. Directions to the location will be provided at registration.
For more information and registration questions contact Karie Christiansen at 425-357-6039 or klchristen@wsu.edu.
Fruit horticulturist Gary Moulton, former manager/director of the fruit research program at the WSU Mount Vernon Northwestern Washington Research and Extension Center, will present both workshops.
The Vineyard at Lee Farm was established in 2004 and features plantings Siegerrebe, Pinot 777, Pinot Precoce, Ortega and Agria grape varieties. Its small size allows the Lee family to control all aspects of winemaking from soil to bottle and create small batch handcrafted wines with a minimum of infrastructure.
For more information about the workshops contact Andrew Corbin at 425-357-6012 or by email at corbina@wsu.edu