Vineyard and Winery Management
Mike White, crops field specialist
Situation
Iowa's new grape/wine industry has grown from two native wineries and five vineyards in 1999 to 16 native wineries and over 200 vineyards in 2003.
Most of these vineyard and winery owners have started out with little or no knowledge of vineyard and/or winery management. There is a huge demand for vineyard and/or winery management information to keep this industry viable.
Response
During the 2002-03 federal fiscal year, I provided the following support to Iowa's grape and wine industry:
- Presented information at 21 vineyard grower meetings with a total attendance of 1,113 people, averaging 53 attendees per meeting.
- Held 1,458 individual consultations.
- Consulted with over 200 vineyards and 16 wineries.
- Advisor and administrative support to Iowa Grape & Wine Commission.
- Advisor and administrative support to Iowa Grape Growers Association.
- Advisor/Ex-officio secretary to Two Rivers Grape & Wine Cooperative at Osceola, Iowa.
Impact
These activities have supported Iowa's new grape/wine industry. Approximately 36,000 gallons of native wine were produced at these native wineries during this period accounting for approximately $1.8 million dollars in sales.
Page last updated: July 8, 2006Page maintained by Linda Schultz, lschultz@iastate.edu
