Portland, Oregon, enabled the perfect balance of science and leisure for those who attended the 59th Annual Meeting held in June.The ideal setting of the Oregon wine industry provided researchers and wine grape industry members an opportunity to tour Oregon wineries, learn more about the world’s recognized Pinot noir regions, interact with well-regarded domestic and international scientists, and witness a unique slate of sensory scientists from California, Europe and Australia.As a result, the ASEV registered its largest crowd in recent years with attendance growing by more than 15 percent from last year.

The week-long event began in the Willamette Valley during an ASEV Oregon Pinot noir winery tour graciously hosted by four well-established Oregon wineries. The regional tour gave attendees an introduction to one of the nation’s fastest growing wine regions. And for those more intrigued by the links, the ASEV Classic Golf Tournament offered a chance to relax with colleagues on the greens at the prestigious Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club.

But the heart of the event was the packed agenda of symposia, presentations and sessions. The 5th Joint Burgundy-California-Oregon Winemaking Symposium preceded the Annual Meeting, warming guests up for two days of in-depth sessions on a variety of enology and viticulture research subjects.  One of the meeting’s highlights was the Merit Award speech presented by Bob Steinhauer. From his 40-year perspective in the industry, Bob looked at the innovations that have shaped this industry and the challenges he sees ahead. Steinhauer’s relationship with ASEV dates back to 1985, when he served as president of the board.

And while the Annual Meeting provides plenty of opportunity to look back and address current concerns, a hallmark has always been the Society’s attention to the future through enology and viticulture students. In addition to acknowledging the scholarship recipients at the popular Student-Industry Mixer, the best student presentation award winners were announced. These awards are generously funded by Lallemand for enology and by Sunridge Nurseries for viticulture. Awardees included:

• Eve-Lyn Hinckley, Stanford University, for her oral presentation on “From Fumigant to Tracer: How Sulfur Inputs Provide Insight into Vineyard Water Losses.”
• James Meyers, Cornell University, for his poster presentation on “Creating Canopy Exposure Maps Using New Metrics for Point Quadrant Analysis.”
• Dominik Durner, DLR Rheinpfalz, on his oral presentation on “Fermentation in Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon wines.”
• Kirsten Skogerson, University of California, Davis, for her poster presentation on “Insights in the Chemical Basis for Wine Body: Exploratory Study of GC-MS and NMR Metabolite Identification in White Wines.”
   

The Oregon meeting also marked the final ASEV trade show as the Society moves to finding new ways to involve suppliers.  Much anticipation and excitement is already focused on the 2009 meeting in the Napa Valley. In celebration of its 60th Annual Meeting, ASEV will debut a program format that engages local wineries and vineyards as the backdrop to the ASEV learning experience. Attendees will be able to network with researchers, industry suppliers and industry leaders while capitalizing on the local features of the famed wine region. For more information regarding ASEV’s 60th Annual Meeting, please visit www.asev.org.