Montana Grape and Wine Association's 2022 Annual Conference

2 Fairway Drive,Whitefish MT 59937

29 April, 2022

Description

Join us in Whitefish for MTGWA's Annual Conference, April 29 - May 1, 2022! The Montana Grape and Wine Association is excited to welcome you to the 2022 conference — our first in-person meeting since COVID appeared!The 2022 event returns to our traditional weekend gathering, complete with workshops, research reports, the ever-popular People’s Choice wine competition, and of course plenty of wine. We look forward especially to seeing many of you face-to-face again! We are especially delighted to welcome new WARC staff members Dr. Andrej Svyantek and Zhuoyu (Joy) Wang, who joined Dr. Zach Miller at the research station late this winter. We will also once again benefit from the industry wisdom of Dan Vogel (sommelier from Xanterra, managing Glacier Park's robust food and beverage scene), and some of our very own board members will enlighten us via hands-on workshops for testing and detecting flaws and unique qualities during the winemaking process. You can both register to attend and find further details regarding the conference agenda, hotel accommodations, People's Choice Awards submissions and more on this very event page. And for more information regarding MTGWA's mission, membership, and more, please visit www.mtgwa.com or reach out to us at [email protected]. Hotel Booking InformationMTGWA has secured a block of rooms at the Grouse Mountain Lodge which attendees can book at a discounted rate. The deadline to book these rooms is April 4, 2022, after which point the hotel will make these rooms available to the general public. To book a hotel room, call Grouse Mountain Lodge’s booking line: Local: 406-892-2525, Toll Free: 844-868-7474 Be sure to mention you are part of the Montana Grape & Wine group, then they will let you know what is still available at that point. MTGWA Annual Conference AgendaThe following agenda will continue to be updated as speakers, content, and timing are confirmed. FRIDAY, APRIL 294:00 p.m.: Registration open! 5:00 - 7:00 p.m.: Submissions open for the People's Choice wine competition 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.: Social hour and People's Choice wine tasting and voting! SATURDAY, APRIL 30 (Exact schedule TBD)MORNING The team from Western Agricultural Research Center (Montana State University) will provide a series of presentations, Q&As, and small group discussions revolving around cold-hardy viticulture. Topics include: - New Expertise and Future Directions: Dr. Zach Miller, Zhuoyu (Joy) Wang, and Dr. Andrej Svyantek will share recent research and new developments for growing better grapes that produce better wines. - A Snapshot of Montana Vineyards: Dr. Zach Miller will share highlights of the WARC survey of Montana vineyards (which was completed this past year). - Weed Management: Dr. Zach Miller will discuss integrating weed management with water and nutrient issues to yield your best crops. - Managing Crop Load and Vine Canopy: Dr. Andrej Svyantek will review research on crop load, dropping fruit, leaf removal, and more for desirable hybrid yields. - Bird Management: Dr. Zach Miller will share research on best bird control practices. AFTERNOON - Marketing Study for the Montana Grape and Wine Industry: Dan Vogel will share what he learned from wineries, retailers and growers both in Montana and in the Northwest, and present some potential goals for increasing our marketing presence of Montana made wines. - Wine Flaws: Avoiding, recognizing, fixing, or (sadly) dumping wine! Bob Thaden of Tongue River Winery will present useful information and lead discussion of participants’ questions to increase our understanding of how to achieve excellence in winemaking. - Wine Tasting: We will finish the afternoon with a fun experience of tasting some wine with the wisdom of a team of sommeliers. EVENING - Hybrids, Yes! Our president will lead us in a presentation and group brainstorm in celebration of our hybrid wine adventure. SUNDAY, MAY 1 (Exact schedule TBD)- Annual MTGWA Membership Meeting - Travel to White Raven Winery (Columbia Falls) - approx. 30 minutes - White Raven Winery Tour: Led by winemaking veteran and White Raven Winery owner, Dan Murphy. - Winemaker Tools Workshop: A demonstration of measuring alcohol, completing accurate sulfite and pH tests, using of a venturi for blowing off SO2, utilizing the FermCalc app, and more! People's Choice Wine CompetitionWe're excited to once again offer Montana winemakers an opportunity to submit their wines into a blind tasting competition, where their wines will be tasted and voted on by their fellow Montana wine enthusiasts. Read on for instructions on how to submit your own wines to be judged! Cost: $5 per entry for first 3 entries. $15 for each additional entry. Entry Requirements: Winery type - Commercial wineries are limited to entering into the Commercial category only. Non-commercial wineries may compete in all categories, including the commercial category.Grapes - Due to weather restraints in the last few years, as long as the grape/fruit used for the wine is TYPICALLY GROWN in Montana, it will be allowed. For example, if you sourced Marquette grapes from out of state for the wine in question, that wine will be allowed in this competition.Number of Bottles - Each entry must consist of 3 bottles for that submitted wine type. The first two bottles will be reserved for tasting by fellow attendees (only one bottle will be set out at a time). These bottles will be bagged to conceal details, and staff will monitor for empty bottles during the competition. The third bottle will serve as a reference for staff, who will tally the final vote count and reveal the winning bottles.Submission Timing - We will begin accepting submissions at 5:00 p.m. on Friday (4/29) and will stop accepting submissions at 7:00 p.m. The earlier you submit your wine, the more time folks will have to taste and potentially vote for your wine. Voting will end at 8:00 p.m.Main Categories: Commercial winesNon-commercial winesSub-categories: Montana grape red winesMontana grape white winesMontana fruit winesAwards will be announced during programming on Saturday (4/30). Medals (along with a certificate) will be awarded for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place for each category in Commercial and Non-commercial.