Award-winning research offers choices for improving Cabernet Sauvignon | Study reveals promise for expanding hard cider industry | Blended Learning student-made wines perfect for holidays | Tis the season: WSU donors enhance student learning | Gov. Inslee reappoints Ted Baseler to WSU Board of Regents
November 2014 WSU wins national award for water-saving research Water scarcity – one of the toughest challenges predicted for the 21st century – is being addressed by Washington State University. As part of a multistate research program, WSU is among 19 land-grant universities honored recently for efforts to help farmers irrigate land more efficiently, especially […]
October 2014 From brains to grapes Three months ago, Berenice Burdet was in Argentina, studying the intricacies of the human brain. Now, she is in central Washington, studying something slightly different: sugar transporter genes in wine grapes. “Before this I was working with brains and rats. Now, I’m working with berries,” said Burdet, a postdoctoral […]
The mysterious moods of the wine grape Pessimism and optimism are personality traits usually assigned to humans. Generally it’s people who can have either a negative or positive outlook on life, but one Washington State University graduate student is studying the outlooks of an unlikely subject: the wine grape. Joelle Bou Harb travelled from Lebanon to […]
The transoceanic pull of the wine grape The grape is a very influential fruit. It’s versatile in its use, dynamic in its variation, and even influential in bringing a team of 13 people from different corners of the world together in Prosser, Wash. Leading the team is Markus Keller, scientist and professor of viticulture, who […]
New vineyard expansion supports teaching and trellising When it came time to plant new vines at the expanding WSU teaching vineyard early this summer at WSU TriCities, the TriCities Vineyard Advisory Team and a vineyard crew from Sagemoor Vineyards came to help. The crew planted about 800 Syrah vines and installed new irrigation systems at […]
The bug census: for healthy vineyards, research counts When Ashley Johnson ventured into Washington’s vineyards last summer in search of pesky leafhoppers, the insects were almost nowhere to be found. That is, until she began receiving calls from organic grape growers. “We didn’t realize that’s where we’d find them,” she said, “but the only people who reported […]
Putting Washington wine on the map From Woodinville to Walla Walla, explore Washington’s wine country with a new, interactive map from the Washington Wine Commission, the Washington State University Viticulture and Enology program, and WSU AgWeatherNet: http://trade.washingtonwine.org/ava-map. The map highlights Washington’s wine industry, with 13 American Viticultural Areas (AVAs), and an ever-expanding list of wineries, […]
White wine finish: It’s not all talk Bringing science to conventional wisdom, a recently published study from Washington State University reveals how different flavors “finish,” or linger, on the palate after a sip of wine. “A longer finish is associated with a higher quality wine, but what the finish is, of course, makes a huge […]
At the root of healthy vineyards Before a glass of Washington wine is poured, before the vine is planted or even arrives at a certified nursery, scientists at the Clean Plant Center Northwest in Prosser, Wash., make sure plants are ready to grow bacteria and virus-free in Pacific Northwest vineyards. Ken Eastwell, director of the […]