AMES, Iowa -- Murli Dharmadhikari recently joined the Iowa State University Extension staff as an extension enologist to help educate Iowans about winemaking.

“During the past five years, Iowa’s grape and wine industry has expanded exponentially. This industry provides value to both Iowa’s agriculture and tourist sectors. We’re pleased that Dr. Dharmadhikari is leading the research and education for Iowa State University,” said Gerald Miller, program director, Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension.

“He brings with him a wealth of experience that will help advance Iowa’s wine industry,” said Miller

Dharmadhikari says the first thing he will do is get to know Iowa’s grape growers and wine producers, learn what level of winemaking knowledge currently exists in the state and understand the short-term and long-term goals of the wineries. Then he plans to work with wine industry stakeholders, including the Iowa Department of Agriculture and ISU faculty and staff members and the Iowa grape and wine industry to find ways to improve and expand the Iowa winery industry.
 
“The Midwest has the potential to be a leader in wine production,” Dharmadhikari said.

“I see Iowa State University building a grape and wine education research center that is a resource for grape growers and winemakers in the Midwest, comparable to wine education centers found at Cornell University on the East Coast and the University of California, Davis, on the West Coast,” said Dharmadhikari.

He came to the United States from India in 1968 to study grape growing. In 1972, he received a doctorate in wine nutrition from Ohio State University. After college he worked at a grape juice processing plant and then helped establish wineries in Ohio and Indiana. In 1986, he started a wine advisory service at Southwest Missouri State University that served wine makers and grape growers in Missouri and several Midwest states.

Wine consumption in the U.S. has increased over the past 20 years. The number of wineries in established areas of wine production, such as New York and California, has increased and wineries have continued to expand to all areas of the U.S.

Currently Iowa has more than 275 vineyards and 42 licensed wineries. Iowans consume about 2.9 million gallons of wine each year. At this time only 111,000 gallons are produced by Iowa wineries. Dharmadhikari says those numbers show that there is a huge opportunity for Iowa wineries to serve Iowa wine consumers.

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