Wine grape industry announces honors

The Washington Association of Wine Grape Growers announced awards for Grower of the Year, Industry Service, Lifetime Achievement, Restaurant Appreciation and Posters at their annual meeting held in Kennewick last month.

Awards were:

GROWER OF THE YEAR

Rick Hamman, Viticulture Manager for Hogue Ranches, received the 2013 Erick Hanson Memorial Wine Grape Grower Award for demonstrated viticultural skills.  Hamman has more than 30 years of experience in the wine industry with both a university and private perspective. He has developed viticulture training programs and is a staunch advocate for clean plants. Through his work in academia and serving on industry boards, Hamman has become a "go to" grower.

INDUSTRY SERVICE

Leo Garcia and Francisco Sarmiento, of Wenatchee Valley College received the 2013 Industry Service Award for their dedication to education for industry employees. Garcia and Sarmiento work together to help the Hispanic population in the tree fruit industry reach their full potential though education. Garcia, the Bilingual Agricultural Education Programs Director at the College, developed curricula for many agricultural programs including the Hispanic Orchard Employee Education Program and the Latino Ag Education Program for Viticulture.  Sarmiento is coordinator and instructor in the programs and has worked on developing curricula.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT

Myles Anderson, part owner and founder of Walla Walla Vintners, received a Lifetime Achievement award to recognize his outstanding service to the Washington grape and wine industry. Anderson has a Ph.D. in psychology and made his mark on the wine industry through the creation of the Center for Enology and Viticulture at Walla Walla Community College. He was integral in bringing wine industry together, creating a vision, and then raising funds for the Center.

RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR

Each year a restaurant is selected that does an exceptional job of showcasing and educating diners about Washington wines. This year's recipient was the Seattle restaurant,Canlis, who coined their style of cooking as 'Comfort Geek'. Canlis is known as having one of the finest cellars in the world and has 18,000 bottles of 2,500 selections with five sommeliers.  In 1997, Canlis was named as Seattle's wine destination and received the first of its sixteen consecutive Wine Spectator Magazine Grand Awards.

POSTERS

Posters provide an opportunity for students, educators, researchers, and other professionals to present new information and discuss the work they are doing with wine and grape industry stakeholders. Displays provide information on a variety of topics including wine and grape research, wine marketing and promotion, extension and educational outreach, educational class projects, technology transfer, tax and/or assessment funded industry support, or institutional research funding.

Posters were judged by industry stakeholders and prizes were awarded in three categories: Graduate, Undergraduate and Professional.

Professional:

1st Place: Michelle M. Moyer1, Gary Ballard2, and Ken Eastwell1

1Washington State University, Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center, Prosser

2Clean Plant Center-Northwest Grapes, Prosser

TOPIC: How Clean is 'Clean'?

2nd Place: Michelle Moyer, Jensena Newhouse, Maurisio Garcia, Gary Grove

Washington State University, Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center, Prosser

TOPIC:  Managing Powdery Mildew: How Specific Product Use Can Change the Timing of the "Critical Period" for Intervention

3rd Place: Jensena M. Newhouse, Michelle M. Moyer, and Gary G. Grove

Washington State University, Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center, Prosser

TOPIC: Effectiveness of Biopesticide-Based Programs on Grape Powdery Mildew

Graduate:

1st Place: Zachary M. Cartwright and Charles G. Edwards

Department of Food Science, Washington State University, Pullman

TOPIC: Brettanomyces Bruxellensis Survival in Grape Pomace at Various Temperatures

2nd Place: Allison K. Baker and Carolyn F. Ross

Washington State University, Pullman

TOPIC: Sensory Evaluation of the Impact of Wine Matrix on Red Wine Finish

3rd Place: Bhanu Donda and Naidu Rayapati

Department of Plant Pathology, Washington State University, Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center, Prosser

TOPIC: The Threat of Grapevine Leafroll Disease to 'Clean' Plantings in Washington Vineyards

Undergraduate:

1st Place: Patrick Quigley, Richard Larsen and James F. Harbertson

Washington State University, Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center, Prosser

TOPIC: Separation and Purification of Anthocyanins from Washington State Red Wine

2nd Place: Jarrod Pack, Basavaraj Bagewadi and Naidu Rayapati

Washington State University, Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center, Prosser

TOPIC: Studies on Grapevine Red Blotch Disease in Washington Vineyards

3rd Place: Ashley Johnson

TOPIC: Identification of Immature and Adult Stages of Leafhoppers in Vineyards with DNA Barcodes