Viticulture extension seminars in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties

This project organized extension seminars on the Central Coast to bring the most current research-based information to the area vineyard industry. At the March 10 Vineyard Soil Salinity Conference near Templeton, speakers from the UCCE, USDA-ARS, and the winegrape industry covered all aspects of salinity and its management in vineyards. Attendance at this meeting was very positive, with 180 registrants; this was a strong indicator of the importance of this issue to the local industry. The Grape Vine Health Workshop Buellton which was scheduled to be held on February 12 in Buellton did not receive similar interest by clientele, and was cancelled due to the low number of registrants.

Key to the success of the Vineyard Soil Salinity Conference was the large degree of cooperation on behalf of Matt Heil of Constellation Wines, U.S. and Chris Cocchiaro of Wild Horse Winery. Their support of providing the meeting venue as well as lunch for the audience significantly lowered the cost of the event.