GENEVA, NY - A Viticulture Consortium, recently established with a $500,000, jointly-administered federal grant, will support research to improve the grape industry in the continental United States. Cornell University's Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva will administer $235,000 of the nationwide grant for the 
eastern states, while the University of California-Davis will administer the remaining funds for the western region. John Bourke, professor emeritus in the Department of Food Science & Technology at Geneva, will manage the day-to-day operations of the grant program.
A regional guidance committee of representatives from industry, research, and extension will help select projects and allocate funds. With input from this committee, requests for proposals have already been forwarded to 14 experiment stations, including ones in Virginia, Tennessee, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. Research projects are not limited to wine grapes, but may include all grape and grape products. A panel of scientists will review the proposals for scientific merit and submit their evaluations to the guidance committee, who will make recommendations for funding.
The American Vintners Association took the lead in acquiring the first year of funding. Key members of the grape and wine industry in New York actively supported the efforts and are expected to continue to do so. Although matching funds from the private sector were not required by Congress, efforts will be made by the grape industry to do this. Grape growers and others in New York contributed approximately $200,000 to support research projects in 1995.
The $500,000 grant for the consortium comes out of a $29.7 million appropriation to USDA for special regional and state grants under public law 89-106. Although this is the first Special Grant the federal government has approved for grape-related research, other commodities have received billions of dollars in such support over the years. The grant is meant to help keep the U.S. grape and grape-products industry competitive with similar industries in other nations where grape and wine research is subsidized by the government. Congressman Walsh from the Syracuse area helped to secure these funds.
New York State is the nation's third largest producer of grapes, second largest producer of wines, and the largest producer of grape juice. Last year, more than 25 million gallons of New York wine was sold, grossing well over $300 million in annual sales.
Contact: Linda McCandless
315-787-2417
e-mail: llm3@cornell.edu
Communications Services, Geneva, NY
Return to News Page