2016 Black Spanish/Lenoir Symposium Preview

The Black Spanish grape, or by other names such as Lenoir and Jacquez, may not be the favorite grape to wine consumers in Texas, but some nice wines have been made from the American hybrid grape from dry wine to port style wine. It will be getting some love though on May 20 in Cat Spring for the 2016 Black Spanish/Lenoir Symposium. Fran Pontasch from the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension will be hosting the symposium to help wineries and vineyards work better with the grape.

Topics will be held such as:

• Signature Estate by Paul Bonarrigo, Messina Hof Winery & Resort
• Managing Growth & Canopy for Quality Fruit by Fritz Westover, Westover Vineyard Advising
• Evolution of Premium Black Spanish by Mike Sipowicz, Texas Custom Wine Works
• Lenoir By Choice by Gary McKibben, Red Caboose Winery
• Black Spanish on the Sweet Side by Marta Lastowska, Haak Vineyards & Winery
• 100% Varietal Dry Black Spanish by Stephen Morgan, Saddlehorn Winery
• Optimizing Harvest Chemistry by Dr. Justin Scheiner, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension

The Symposium will be held at:

Cat Spring Agricultural Society Hall
13035 Hall Road, Cat Spring, TX 78933

Tickets are $75 at the door and include lunch, wine social, and wine glass. RSVP to Fran Pontasch at fmpontasch@tamu.edu or 979-458-0131 / 254-977-3641.