Research WA Wine Pt 2
With today’s Fruit Grower Report, I’m Bob Larson. For the fifth straight year, the Washington State Wine Commission has awarded more than a million dollars for grape and wine research.
The Wine Commission’s Research Director Melissa Hansen says much of the funding is directed to programs at WSU and state Community Colleges, but some is used for collaborative projects with out of state schools …
HANSEN … “We now have a mechanism where we can fund one project where they’re both co-principal investigators.”
Hansen says it takes careful planning …
HANSEN … “And you just really have to be efficient with your research dollars and you don’t want to be duplicating anything. And so, there’s a lot of incentive for the various states to really work together.”
Research, Hansen says is a group effort …
HANSEN … “And, we do have an avenue in the Northwest through the USDA to collaborate with Oregon, but that’s not necessarily out of the Wine Commission’s own pockets. That’s some federal dollars where we have a regional, it’s called the Northwest Center for Small Fruits Research. And so, it’s based out of our USDA hub for grapes which is in Corvallis.”
Hansen says it’s all about the wine …
HANSEN … “We all try to make sure that we know what projects are on the horizon and who’s doing what and who can help fund the various projects so that we can, you know, really be good stewards with the research dollars.”
Visit the Washington State Wine Commission website for a list of upcoming research projects.
