Événement

Local Vines for Local Wines: Viticulture 101 for Western Washington

Learn what is involved with developing your own vineyard.

The workshop will cover the issues to consider when establishing a new vineyard including the practical aspects of vineyard development as well as an overview of grapevine growth and annual practices.

Topics cover variety and rootstock selection, types of planting stock, soil testing, canopy management, trellis and irrigation decisions, growing and harvest information, as well as an informal look at the production steps from just-picked-fruit to finished bottle.

Instructor Gary Moulton started with the Fruit Horticulture department at the WSU Research Station in Mt. Vernon in 1980. In 1991, he took over management, direction, and leadership of the program. He holds a Master's from WSU in Plant Pathology specializing in fruit diseases, and a Bachelor's in Pomology/Fruit Science from Cal-Poly San Luis Obispo. He currently consults for the Western Washington fruit industry.

As one of only 11 Washington AVAs (California has over 100), wines grown and bottled in the Puget Sound AVA have been winning national and regional awards for a number of years. Established in 2009, the Evergreen State Fair Wine competition is open only to wines produced from grapes grown 100% in Western Washington.

With the increasing number of vintners looking for quality wine grapes and a rising volume of consumers looking for foods grown and produced close to home, the opportunities are growing for those looking to establish a vineyard large or small.

The Vineyard at Lee Farms, established in 2004, has carefully tended plantings of Siegerrebe, Pinot 777, Pinot Precoce, Ortega, and Agria.

The Vineyard's small size provides complete control over every aspect of winemaking from soil to bottle, allowing the Lee family to create small batches of lovingly handcrafted wines with minimal infrastructure.