To: Virginia Vintners

From: Bruce Zoecklein

Subject: Norton Roundtable, Laboratory and Research Winery Renovation, Governor's Cup Screening Round, Winery Planning and Design Workshop.

Norton Roundtable. We are organizing a Norton producers roundtable meeting for July 30, 2001 at Chrysalis Vineyards at 1:00 PM . This meeting is for current growers and producers of Norton. If you are interested in attending, please RSVP via an email note to me by July 23.

The meeting is designed as a forum for discussion of the viticultural and enological issues related to the production of Norton in Virginia. It will include sensory evaluations. Topics will include:

Norton and stylistic goals
Canopy management and it relationship to wine style and balance
Norton vine nutrition issues
Maturity evaluators and yield
pH, TA and phenol management
Processing techniques: whole cluster press, cold soak, enzyme treatment(s), yeast and MLF selections, fermentation temperature, co-fermentation, tannin additions, delestage, wood fermentation, sur lie storage, wood storage time and source(s), etc.

I will bring some experimental and commercial Norton wines.

Please bring Norton wines to share and discuss and don't forget to RSVP to me by July 23!

Laboratory and Research Winery Renovation. Renovations to our laboratory and research winery are finally about to begin. This $180,000 project will greatly expand and modernize our facilities. We will do our best to keep our extension analysis service going to continue to serve the industry.

Governor's Cup Screening Round. The screening round for the 2001 Governor's Cup is scheduled for August 6 and 7 at White Hall Vineyards. The evaluation will begin each day at 9:30 a.m. and last to about 4:00 p.m. Each winery is permitted one judge. Please mail me the name of the judge for your winery ASAP so that we can begin the panel selection. Additionally, please provide the names of people who will be willing to help pour wines. The details regarding the judging format will be mailed mid-July.

Winery Planing and Design Workshop. A one-day Winery Planning and Design Workshop is scheduled for July 21, 2001 at the Forsyth County Agriculture Building, Winston-Salem, North Carolina. This program is for those seriously interested in entering the commercial wine industry.

This event is being coordinated by Dr. Bruce Zoecklein and Dr. Robert Wurz and is co-sponsored by the Enology-Grape Chemistry Group, Virginia Tech and the North Carolina Winegrowers Association.

The workshop fee is $115 payable to North Carolina Winegrowers Association, P.O. Box 27647, Raleigh, NC 27611. Pre-registration is required and enrollment capacity is limited. The registration deadline is July 6.

Additional registration information is available from Chanel McIntyre at chanel.mcintyre@ncmail.net or (919) 733-7136.

Additional program information is available from Dr. Bruce Zoecklein, Head, Enology- Grape Chemistry Group, Virginia Tech at bzoeckle@vt.edu or phone at (540) 231-5325. and posted on the group's web site at www.fst.vt.edu/zoecklein/index.html. From the home page chick on events.