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

By the end of the 2022-2023 funding cycle, we completed three of the four On the Road (OTR) educational events originally proposed in the 2022 AVF Extension and Outreach proposal (Tulare, Mendocino, and Lodi) plus the in-person program in Shasta County (twice postponed due to COVID circumstances). In other words, four programs total. We used the NCE to fund the Shasta program which finally took place on November 16, 2022. We then completed three more events proposed in the 2022-23 grant proposal before April 15, 2023 (proposal 2022-1685).

Four On the Road events were completed in the 2022-23 funding cycle. The first of the four events, as mentioned above, was in Shasta County at the McConnell Foundation in Redding, CA on November 16, 2022. We worked with the Shasta Cascade Viticulture Assoc. and the Shasta County UCCE Director to get the word out about the program. Speakers were: Kendra Baumgartner, Kyle Knipper, Kaan Kurtural, Marcelo Bustamante, and Anita Oberholster. We then worked with George Zhuang, Joy Hollingsworth and Steve Vasquez to bring an amazing program to the Tulare County Cooperative Extension Auditorium on February 15, 2023 (this program was orginally scheduled in Fresno County, but due to the World Ag Expo, we moved the program location to Tulare, due to a request from stakeholders and farm advisors). Speakers were Andrew McElrone, Megan Bartlett, Luis Diaz Garcia, Mason Earles, and David Block. The third program took place in Mendocino County. It was originally supposed to take place at the Hopland Research and Extension Center, however, heavy rains damaged the water system so the venue was closed. In addition, our scheduled caterer could not reach her catering kitchen, so Chris Chen (Viticulture Farm Advisor) and I figured out a way to pivot to a new venue (a local winery, Brutocao Cellars), provide breakfast from a local bakery (CJ Bamforth and KL Block picked up pastries), the winery provided coffee, and we refunded some of the registration money that would have paid for lunch. It was an adventure, but we still had approximately 50 people that attended! Speakers were Monica Cooper, Mark Battany, Luis Diaz Garcia, Cindy Cron, and Christopher Chen. The fourth OTR program took place in Lodi at the Grape Festival Grounds on March 9, 2023. Speakers were: Beth Forrestel, Anita Oberholster, Mason Earles, Cristina Lazcano, and Kerri Steenwerth (72 people attended). Shout out to F and M Bank and Stephanie Bolton (LWC) for their help. We asked for and received a No Cost Extension (2022-1685) to complete the Alameda County On the Road Program in November 2023 (we substituted Alameda for Fresno in 2023, due to the proximity of Tulare and Fresno and then added Fresno back to the 2024 schedule in place of the Foothills).

We plan to complete four On the Road events, in the 2023-24 grant cycle, before the end of April 2024. The first OTR program for 2023-24 was the Alameda County On the Road Program, (described above). The second program in the 2023-24 grant cycle is scheduled for March 19, 2024, in Fresno County at the Kearny Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Parlier. Speakers confirmed for the Fresno program are: Megan Bartlett, Luis Diaz Garcia, Matthew Fidelibus, and Anita Oberholster. The third program will be in Bakersfield at Hodel’s Country Dining on March 20, 2024. The fourth OTR is scheduled for early April 2024, in San Luis Obispo County. The fifth program, from the 2023-24 grant will take place in November 2024 in San Diego County (NCE). We are working with Carmen Gispert to finalize date, venue, and speakers.