The 30,000-acre Lake Erie Grape Region of New York and Pennsylvania runs along Lake Erie, from the shores of Lake Ontario to the north to the Pennsylvania/Ohio border.  It has a long history of Labrusca (Concord and Niagara) production for use in juice, jams and jellies and sweet wines.  The region is also home to an emerging wine grape industry with 16 established wineries participating in the Lake Erie Wine Trail. 
 
The Lake Erie Regional Grape Program (LERGP) is a two-state cooperative extension program of both Cornell and Penn State Universities and is also supported by five county Cooperative Extension Associations.  The Regional Extension Educator (Viticulture Specialist) is part of a four member team currently housed at the Lake Erie Center for Grape Research and Extension in Fredonia, NY. In 2008 the program will move to a new $4.5 million research and extension facility in Portland, NY.  As part of the extension team, the Viticulture Specialist will provide commercial grape growers, processors and wineries with the research-based knowledge and resources necessary to improve production, management and marketing practices that will enhance profitability and sustain growth of the juice and wine industries of the Lake Erie Region in New York and Pennsylvania.
 
The successful applicant will provide leadership in planning, conducting, and evaluating a comprehensive education program, to include both independent and cooperative applied research and demonstration projects in diverse technical areas including the nutrition, water management, and mechanization.  The established Labrusca industry requires programming aimed at improving production while managing costs and the emerging wine and wine grape industry provides the opportunity to work with varietal and clonal selections appropriate for a premium Lake Erie wine industry as well as soils, site selection, training systems, harvest and handling.
 
For more details, see http://hosts.cce.cornell.edu/admin/careerops/EA_Vint_June07.htm
 
HOW TO APPLY:   Send letter of intent, resume, and transcripts to Area Fruit Extension Educator-Viticulture, Box 26, Kennedy Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853.  Contact Connie Kan at ck236@cornell.edu for any questions.
 
APPLICATION DEADLINE: July 27, 2007 or until a suitable candidate is hired.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY: Cornell University is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer. Cornell University is committed to a policy of non-discrimination on the basis of race, sex, national origin, disability, religion, age, or sexual orientation.

DAVIS, CA, June 12, 2007… Based on significant evaluation and discussion, the American Society for Enology and Viticulture’s (ASEV) Board of Directors has elected to discontinue the trade show portion of their popular June Annual Meeting, effective 2009. There are no plans for trade shows following the 2008 meeting in Portland, Oregon.

“This action offers us added flexibility and positions us to be more responsive to the needs of our members, exhibitors and the evolving directions of the wine industry,” said Board President Pat Howe.

Without the space requirements of an exhibit floor, the ASEV Board says significantly different site options can be considered for its annual meeting. Additionally, the Board can now allocate more resources to the development of completely new program formats and explore more dynamic ways for suppliers to interact with the wine and grape community.

As part of its strategic planning process, the ASEV is already in the process of developing a host of new opportunities to further the interaction between suppliers and members, while better integrating suppliers’ knowledge into many aspects of ASEV annual meeting activities. The popular Supplier Showcase Seminars introduced last year are one example of how industry members and suppliers can combine their technical knowledge to the advantage of the industry.

The Board is also addressing new member services to both enhance member benefits and replace the trade show. The introduction of subscription-based, on-demand web videos of symposia and one-day seminars focusing on current hot topics are not only examples of new revenue sources, but more importantly offer ways to further the Society’s core value of widely disseminating research information.

“The Board is confident that this strategic decision will ultimately enrich the ASEV by providing more value and relevance to its members,” Howe said.

The American Society for Enology and Viticulture (ASEV) is a non-profit professional society dedicated to the interests of enologists, viticulturists, and others in the fields of wine and grape research and production throughout the world. Membership includes professionals from wineries, vineyards, academic institutions and organizations. More information on the ASEV, its programs and annual meeting can be found on-line at: www.asev.org.

Soil Water – Atmospheric Scientist
Research Fellow / Post Doctoral Fellow
Wagga Wagga
Full time
Fixed Term

Background Information
The Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation (GWRDC) and the National Wine and Grape Industry Centre (NWGIC) have recently established a collaborative program known as ‘NWGIC Winegrowing Futures’. This collaboration will support wine industry research through a $30 million co-investment program over five years. Regional field sites are used for the Centre’s viticulture trials.

Responsibilities
The NWGIC is seeking to appoint a postdoctoral fellow/research fellow who will assess soil based versus micrometeorological based estimates of vine/vineyard ET. The objective is to move from point-source soil-based measures of estimating vine water requirement to atmospheric determination at vineyard and sub-regional scale. This will require obtaining accurate seasonal measures of soil water balance in train with micrometeorological techniques to determine vapour and CO2 fluxes. Constructing water balances for vineyards requires an individual who possesses a complex mix of skills. 
The appointee will work with a multidisciplinary research team comprised of NWGIC, CSIRO and CSU Centre of WATER staff to ground-truth new water use forecasting methodologies against current industry standards.

The position is 100% research and reports to the NWGIC Director. The appointee will present research outputs at industry and technical forums.
Selection Criteria

Essential

• PhD in Science or Engineering with a major in hydrology, meteorology, physics, or related discipline with equivalent research experience (for appointment as Research Fellow/Postdoctoral Fellow).
• Significant progress towards PhD in Science or Engineering with a major in hydrology, meteorology, physics, or related discipline with equivalent research experience (for appointment as Research Associate).
• Experience working in field environments with remotely located instrumentation.
  Demonstrated ability to design, implement, sample, and interpret results from field-based experimental trials.
• Working knowledge of statistics and the application of advanced statistical methods including computer programming skills.
• Knowledge and skills in the area of soil water monitoring, sap-flow measurement, and methodologies used to measure water exchange between the land surface and the atmosphere.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate actively and effectively, both verbally and in writing to a broad range of target audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently, under supervision, and as part of a team to achieve shared goals.
• Demonstrated ability to work within defined timeframes and budgets.

Desirable

• Understanding of perennial crop physiology.
• Experience in collection and analysis of climatic data and weather events.
• Experience with verifying and modifying water balance models to suit irrigated vineyards.
• Knowledge of boundary layer physics, including eddy covariance technique to estimate CO2 and H2O exchanges.

Conditions: Contract until December 2010

The University encourages applicants to apply for the position by Monday 18 June 2007, however, will continue to consider applications until the position is filled.

Further information on this position is available from:
Dr Ron Hutton,
Deputy Director, National Wine & Grape Industry Centre
Charles Sturt University
Telephone: +61 (0)2 6933 2108
Email: ron.hutton@dpi.nsw.gov.au