Owning your own vineyard sounds so lovely and romantic. Each night as a gentle fog cools your grapes, you and your dog wander through the rows of vines bursting with perfectly formed grapes. The birds fly over your land and feast on your neighbors crops. The insects travel miles away to gnaw on the branches of another vineyard. Each night, you polish the gold medals hanging on your bedpost. It’s so easy and rewarding. Why doesn’t everyone have their own vineyard.
If you want to find out why, The Texas AgriLife Extension Service, has just the conference for you: Grape Grower Workshops.
Let’s talk reality. Go.
Roll the press release…
AgriLife Extension sets prospective wine-grape grower workshops for first half of 2012
HOUSTON — The Texas AgriLife Extension Service viticulture team has set the dates for its Prospective Wine-grape Grower Workshop from January – June, said the team’s coordinator.
“This workshop was created by the team as a means to educate farmers, entrepreneurs or any other individual considering planting a commercial vineyard of what is generally involved in that sort of enterprise,” said Fritz Westover, AgriLife Extension viticulture adviser for the Gulf Coast.
Westover and other team members work together to schedule and present these prospective grower workshops throughout the year in different wine-grape growing areas of the state.
The day-long program consists of a series of presentations that provide an overview of the unique requirements and risks associated with establishing and operating a commercial vineyard in Texas.
The workshop begins with registration at 8:30 a.m., followed by presentations and instruction from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Topics include vineyard economics, necessary viticulture expertise, vineyard site considerations, risk factors and vineyard labor requirements.
The scheduled dates, cities and lead viticulture team presenters are:
— Feb. 7, Pittsburg, Fran Pontasch.
— March 14, Houston, Fritz Westover.
— May 4, Fredericksburg, Penny Adams.
— June 15, Lubbock, Dusty Timmons.
Specific locations for the workshops will be determined later and posted on the Texas AgriLife Extension Conference Services website. Registration can be completed online, with information on specific workshops available by entering the word “wine’ in the keyword field. Registration is $150 per individual or $250 per couple, and lunch is included.
The workshop also serves as a prerequisite for application to the Texas Viticulture Certificate Program offered by Texas Tech University and AgriLife Extension,” Westover noted. More information on the certification program can be found at http://winegrapes.tamu.edu/viticulturecertificate.html
Additional information related to wine-grape growing in Texas can be found at http://winegrapes.tamu.edu.
