Join Vineyard Team and Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance for a half-day Industry Update bringing together growers, experts, and advocates for a timely pulse check on grape markets, grower resources, and state-level developments shaping our region in 2026. This ticketed* event includes lunch and will feature: Grape Market Update & Industry Outlook – A look at current bulk wine and grape market trends, supply and demand dynamics, and what they mean for your business decisions this season. Grants & Funding Opportunities Panel – Moderated by an experienced grower, this conversation brings together funding and program specialists who work directly with agricultural grants and cost-share programs. Learn what opportunities are available, how to position your operation for success, and what makes a strong application. Policy & Advocacy Update – Michael Miiller of the California Association of Winegrape Growers shares key statewide developments and policy prioriti

Building healthy soils is key to resilient vineyards—but how do you measure success, and which practices truly move the needle? Join us for an in-field discussion exploring soil health from multiple angles, starting with three presentations: Jenny Garley (Bio SI) will share insights on using sap sugar levels as a practical indicator of plant and soil health, highlighting how increased microbial activity (especially fungi) can boost photosynthesis and overall vineyard performance. Dr. Stewart Wilson (Cal Poly) will provide a soil science perspective, grounding the conversation in the latest research and field applications. Mike Costello (Oakville Bluegrass) will outline current funding and grant opportunities available to growers, with a focus on cover crops and soil-building practices. We’ll then transition to a grower panel led by host Bob Tillman, sharing real-world experience implementing regenerative practices. REGISTER

The 2024 Sustainable Ag Expo is set to be an unforgettable event, offering a unique blend of educational sessions, exhibitors, and exclusive networking opportunities November 11th - 13th, 2024. Here are three reasons you won't want to miss at this year’s event:   Reason #1: Welcome Event Featuring an Exclusive Presentation  Kick off your experience with a pre-Expo event on Monday, November 11th, from 5:00-7:00pm at beautiful Center of Effort Winery in Arroyo Grande, California. Expo Headliner Fritz Westover presents, Dormant Grapevine Pruning & Vine Training: Are we Slowly Killing our Vines? This intimate conversation delves into the critical impact pruning and training have on vine health, and discusses whether diseases or improper techniques are more detrimental. Attendees will walk away with pruning strategies that minimize disease. Westover will also share methods for in-season vine training and summer pruning to enhance vine longevity using

Naked Wines Announces the 2023 Montoya Opportunity Fund Grant Recipients

Grant Provides $80,000 in Financial Support to 12 Up-and-Coming Latino Wine Professionals NAPA, Calif., Jan. 30, 2024 — Naked Wines, the largest 100% direct-to-consumer winery in America, today announced the […]

Q1 is a time for review in the wine industry. How did 2021 take shape? What do the trends mean for 2022? As various industry reports are being released, we thought it would be fun to take a look back on 2021 ourselves. Being a team of fulfillment specialists affords us a privileged point of view here. We can speak to wine sales and the DTC channel having seen it up close, on the ground. We see the actual orders going out the door to customers.  And what we see is this—the industry has gone through some substantial changes, no doubt about it. The “necessity is the mother of invention”’ principle is prevailing, which makes us  optimistic about what the rest of the year has in store.  Here are three trends to watch in 2022: Tasting Rooms Have Evolved, and Will Continue to Do So One of the biggest changes wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic was its effect on tasting rooms. We’re not talking about tasting rooms closing and re-opening; we’re ta

Looking to fund your next water/energy-saving project? The CDFA's SWEEP grant is open for applications through January 18th.  There's still quite a bit of money up for grabs but it's going fast. Contact Loni at loni@advancedvit.com or (415) 619-4955 to discuss your project ideas and funding opportunities. SWEEP awards up to $200,000 per project to fund things like: Solar Soil moisture monitoring Plant stress sensors Irrigation automation Updating/replacing irrigation pumps  Installing flowmeters and well/tank depth sensors Installing Variable Frequency Drives (VFD) Installing weather stations Let AV help you take advantage of the over $40 million reserved for improving on-farm water use and energy. Don't forget to check out our most recent blogposts on soil moisture and upcoming legislation regarding ground water. Now is the time to invest in efficient resource management.  Installing soil probes is a great way to take advantage of this opportunity

WG Edge Partners with Sonoma County Grape Growers Foundation to Create Opportunities for Women in Agriculture

SANTA ROSA, Calif.  (November 15, 2021) – With its stated goal to preserve the legacy of agriculture in Sonoma County, the Women Gaining an Edge (WG Edge), a local leadership development program aimed at strengthening the region’s agricultural workforce, announced today that it will make a grant to the Sonoma County Grape Growers Foundation to administer […]

Problems are Opportunities Waiting for Solutions This is the last week to participate in the Annual SVB Winery Conditions Survey.  There is no information like this available anywhere in the wine business. We take on this initiative annually at a substantial cost, but we give it all away to the industry. This data is used by Associations to apply for grants, by academia for research and in V&E classrooms, as a benchmarking tool for all wineries, and as part of the research we do to prepare the Annual SVB WIne Report. That said, it's impossible for me to provide the information without you dedicating the 15 minutes needed to complete the survey.  There are always interesting surprises along the way, and this year is no exception.  As I prepare to begin the writing on the SVB State of the Wine Industry Report, I am aware of many headwinds such as supply-chain problems, fires, smoke, the unprecedented drought, low soil moisture that will be a larger part of 2022, s

eCommerce and buying patterns have drastically changed in the wake of COVID-19. With these DTC shifts comes the opportunity for wineries to really explore and expand their unique and personalized offerings.  Corporate gifting, holiday gift packs, and tasting kits really took off as companies and individuals replaced in-person happy hours and parties with gifts shipped to people’s homes. As we experienced over the last year though, supply chains have also been greatly affected, leaving many supplies we take for granted unavailable. What this means is that kitting could potentially be a much more profitable line than before, but wineries will have to both get creative with their kitting ideas to stand out from the crowd, and be flexible in implementing those ideas to stay within what is feasible. Doing both will take some planning, and the time to do that planning is now, in the summer, with your logistics partner. Getting Creative with Kitting Offering kits is a great way to

The following is an excerpt from a recent blogpost. Read the full article here. I was lucky this past week to sit down with Brooke Pippi, an agricultural engineer with the Natural Resources Conservation Service to talk about the EQIP Program and how it can help farmers in the U.S. with their conservation projects. This is a long one, but read up! If you’ve got a problem or a project idea, EQIP could provide you with funding to make that happen…and ahem, if that project happens to be vineyard related, AV can help out too…just sayin’ (photo: a weather station like this one would make a good project that EQIP can help pay for). What Is EQIP and How Does It Work? So, EQIP stands for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, and it’s a financial assistance program to put conservation practices on the ground.  EQIP is designed to address on-farm resource concerns that producers have. We’re available for any agricultural producer, to come into th