2013 Newsom Grape Day and High Plains Vineyard Tour

Are you ready to learn more about growing grapes or better appreciate the effort Texas grape growers put in to help Texas wineries make quality wine? If so, then April 26-27 near Lubbock is where you want to be.

On Friday, April 26 is the annual Newsom Grape Day held at Neal Newsom’s barnery. On Saturday you can sign up for the 2013 Terry County Vineyard Tour. Between these two events you will definitely learn more about grape growing and be able to meet some of the top names in the Texas growing industry.

As mentioned, Newsom Grape Day will be held at Neal’s barnery or barn for those who didn’t read my post on visiting Newsom Vineyards. The location can be found on the Newsom Vineyard’s website. You must RSVP to Neal Newsom (neal@newsomvineyards.com) for the lunch.

This is the agenda for this year’s event:

• 8:00 – 9:00 Registration
• 9:00 – 9:15 Welcome – Neal Newsom
• 9:15 – 10:15 Mechanized Balanced Cropping: A Strategy to Reduce Crop Loss from Adverse Weather Conditions by Dr. Keith Striegler, Flint Ridge Winegrowing Services
• 10:15 – 10:45 Break & Vineyard Equipment
• 10:45 – 11:15 Clarification of Unfermented White Juice Using Flotation by Greg Bruni, Llano Estacado Winery
• 11:45 – 12:00 Newsom Scholarship Recipients
• 12:00 – 1:00 Lunch
• 1:00 – 1:30 Tempranillo on the High Plains by Neal Newsom, Newsom Vineyards
• 1:30 – 2:15 Alternative Grape Varieties by Dr. Ed Hellman, Texas A&M AgriLife and Texas Tech Univ.
• 2:15 – 3:15 A Viticulturist’s Perspective on Grapevine Virus Problems and Solutions by Dr. Keith Striegler, Flint Ridge Winegrowing Services

The next day Saturday, April 27 the Texas Wine and Grape Growers Association and the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service Terry County will host the 2013 Terry County Vineyard Tour.

The tour will begin with registration at 9:00am at the new Texas Custom Wine Works facility (http://www.texascustomwineworks.com). This new facility is located on the north side of County Road 460 between FM 403 and Highway 137, on the South edge of Brownfield. The address is 1823 County Road 460. It is the only building there. If you turn off the Seagraves Road on FM 137, County Road 460 is about one mile from that intersection. Turn west and it is the only building on County Road 460 and it is a huge building.

Buses provided by the Brownfield Independent School District will visit vineyards in the south and east portions of Terry County before disembarking for a lunch sponsored by Terry County Farm Bureau.

After lunch the tour will visit vineyards in north and west Terry County. The tour will conclude by returning to Texas Custom Wine Works.

For reservations/tickets please contact Scott A. Russell, Extension Agent-Integrated Pest Management, at (806) 637-8792 or via e-mail (preferred) at: sarussel@ag.tamu.edu. Reservations will include the tour and an evening meal at the Diamante Doble Vineyard located south of Tokio, Texas. Tickets will be forwarded via e-mail or USPS.

RSVP by April 22, 2013 to ensure your seat, lunch, and the evening meal. They will need your reservation to prepare meals.

I will be attending both days and I hope to meet you there!