Field Notes

News and Updates from the New York Wine & Grape Foundation

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Community Solar Explained: What It Is and How It Works

What Is Community Solar?Community solar farms (also referred to as projects) are large, commercial-grade solar arrays shared by multiple community subscribers who receive credits on their electricity bills for their share of the power produced. Community solar farms offer residents, businesses, and municipalities an easy way to support clean, renewable energy AND save up to 10% on their monthly energy costs (with no change in utility provider). It’s easy, which is one of the many

NYWGF Issues RFP for Sustainable Wine & Grape Certification Marketing Plan

NYWGF is developing a third-party certification for sustainably grown grapes and wine. The basis for this certification will be the VineBalance Guide to Sustainable Viticulture, a grower self-assessment workbook codeveloped by the Cornell Cooperative Extension and Soil and Water Conservation Committee of the New York Department of Agriculture and Markets in 2007. This workbook is widely applied across the state, but it lacks a system of third-party verification and logo for special labeling. Growers who

James Suckling

JamesSuckling.com Publishes Review of New York Wines

Penn Yan, NY, September 21st, 2021 – Over 30 wineries participating in the New York Wine & Grape Foundation (NYWGF) International Export Program were invited to submit wines for review by JamesSuckling.com last Spring. JamesSuckling.com is an international wine publication that annually reviews and comments on wines from the world’s leading wine regions. Results are published to an audience of over 600,000 unique annual visitors.  Of the wines submitted for review by 25 wineries, 69 received scores of 90 and above. According to JamesSuckling.com “a wine rated 90 points or more is

Multi-State Partnership Advances Sustainability in the U.S. Wine Industry through Research, Education and Promotion

Since 2018, wine industry organizations from the four states have been partnering to advance sustainability initiatives industry wide. By providing a definition and principles for the U.S. wine industry, conducting trade and consumer research, sharing information through two U.S. Sustainable Winegrowing Summits and providing education on the industry’s sustainability commitment to trade and consumers, the project has been effective in furthering the understanding of sustainable winegrowing.

Wine industry and key stakeholders join forces to define sustainability

For the first time, more than 40 key actors in the production and marketing of wine around the world have joined forces to accelerate action as sustainability challenges mount. The newly formed Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR) is a unique coalition of leading wine brands, small producers, distributors, retailers, environmental organisations, and others – all joined in their determination to make the wine sector a sustainability leader. From drought to flooding, from rising temperatures and increased

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Improve Your Yield & Quality, Lower Production Costs, and Conserve Labor & Resources with the MyEV Tool

The Efficient Vineyard approach involves measuring and collecting data on soils, canopy, crop size, and fruit quality; combining direct vineyard measurements and/or sensor data into valuable viticulture knowledge for vineyard managers; and developing variable rate vineyard prescription maps to improve yield and quality, lower production costs, and conserve labor and environmental resources. The FREE MyEV Tool has brought this vision to reality for growers and wineries.