Extension and Outreach through UC Davis Viticulture and Enology On the Road Events

AVF Proj. ID: 1685 / /Cat.:
Primary Investigator(s): Dr. Karen Block and Dr. Anita Oberholsterby

By the end of the extended 2019-2020 funding cycle, we produced the five On the Road educational events originally proposed in the 2019 AVF Extension and Outreach proposal. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we applied for and received a No Cost Extension to complete the programs proposed for 2019-2020 by April 15, 2021. We actually completed all of the remaining programs (Lodi, Napa, Stanislaus, and Paso Robles (Temecula was completed in Nov 2019)) virtually, in December 2020 (proposal 2019-1685). So, we completed all of the proposed events for the 2019-2020 funding cycle (proposed in 2019), and we expect to complete all of the events proposed in 2020 before the end of April 2021 (proposal 2020-1685).

The first On the Road event in the previous (2019-2020) grant cycle took place in Temecula at the Wilson Creek Winery, on November 18, 2019. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, only the Temecula event was held in person (see the 2020 Annual Report for details). The second program was originally scheduled to take place at the Grape Festival Grounds in Lodi on March 17, 2020. It ended up as a virtual OTR program on July 13, 2020. Forty people attended live and sixty viewed the recorded program online. The third program was scheduled to take place on March 31, 2020, at COPIA in Napa, and it ended up as a virtual program taking place on, July 15 and 16, 2020. The first day’s program had 100 live attendees and the second day had 96 attending live. Interestingly, only 25 viewed the recordings. The fourth 2019-2020 OTR program was organized with Kari Arnold and was originally scheduled to occur on April 8, 2020, at Harvest Hall in Stanislaus County. This program was also provided virtually on July 27, 2020. Forty-eight people attended the Zoom meeting live and 41 viewed the recording. The fifth and final program proposed in 2019 (UCD V and E On the Road in Paso Robles) took place on December 10, 2020, and had 120 people attending live! An additional 145 people viewed the recording online. Overall, we reached 759 individuals just through our 2019-2020 On the Road programs.

We plan to complete the four On the Road (OTR) events, proposed in January 2020, before the end of April 2021. The first of the four events will be a virtual program for Merced, Mariposa, and Madera Counties on February 22, 2021. We worked with Karl Lund (3Ms Viticulture Advisor) to determine topics and speakers of interest. Confirmed speakers: Kendra Baumgartner, Anita Oberholster, Kent Daane, Akif Eskalen, George Zhuang, and Helen Dahlke. The second event will take place virtually on March 16, 2021. We worked with Kamyar Aram, the Alameda and Contra Costa Counties Specialty Crops Advisor (including wine grapes), to determine speakers of interest. Confirmed Speakers: Anita Oberholster, Megan Bartlett, Mason Earles, Andrew McElrone, and Andrew Walker. The third OTR program in March/April 2021, in Kern County, is currently under development with the new Viticulture Advisor, Tian Tian. The fourth program of 2021 will also take place in the March/April 2021 timeframe. We are currently discussing topics and dates with a member of the Shasta Cascade Viticulture Association to determine relevant topics and dates for the program. We also organized fourteen virtual, one-hour “Office Hours with Dave and Anita” extension programs. Researchers in specific areas gave short summaries (20 min) of what is known about the topic and the research performed to date. We then opened up the Zoom meeting to questions from attendees.