The Total Wine Package

Craig Tordsen, P&S, Value Added Agriculture

Situation

Growing grapes and making wine is one of agriculture’s oldest and most romantic industries. Today, Iowa is experiencing a re-birth of grape growing and wine production.  Many people are asking questions about how to become part of the grape and wine industry.  There is little regional information readily available and many are investing large amounts of money and time in growing grapes or starting a winery without the necessary information to make good business decisions.

Objective

The objective of The Total Wine Package is to provide reliable information to people in Iowa and the Midwest to make good business decisions about growing grapes or producing wine.

Activities/Output

The output was three videos totaling 24 minutes that answered the following questions.

  1. What should I know before jumping in?
  2. What should I learn about the science of viticulture?
  3. What are the keys to success in developing a winery business?

The video, in DVD format, was distributed to 100 leaders of the Midwest grape and wine industry as well as extension leaders in Iowa.  The video is available on the web in a streaming format at http://www.agmrc.org/agmrc/commodity/fruits/wine/winevideo.htm

Impact/Outcomes

The Internet log of the wine video has recorded viewing by 521 unique IP numbers in the first six months of 2005.  Extension staff have presented the video to several wine and grape meetings and conferences where it is estimated over 1,000 people have seen the video. 

 

2005   
121 - Adding Value and Enhancing Agricultural Products

Page last updated: July 9, 2006
Page maintained by Linda Schultz, lschultz@iastate.edu