Viticulture

Welcome to Cork Talk.

This is another best of Cork Talk episode featuring David Bower and Sarah Bowman of the Shelton Badgett NC Center for Viticulture and Enology at Surry Community College.

Our original conversation with David was recorded several years ago, making this a great opportunity to catch up on how the program has evolved and what's ahead for the North Carolina wine industry.

Stay tuned for a follow-up conversation at the end of this episode where David discusses new wines and styles coming out of the program, including a new rosé, an expanding lineup of sparkling wines, and student-led projects released under the Surry Labs label.

You can learn more about the council by going to their website, ncwine.org.

So sit back, pour a glass, and listen.

So today we are here, uh, for our episode, last episode of Cork Talk for the year, with David Bower from the Shelton Badgett North Carolina Center for Viticulture and Enology at Surry Community College.

That's quite a mouthful.

Small incident.

We have become fascinated with the tiny details that add up to difference in a restaurant, says Joe Radford, head and co-founder of Timber Yard and creator of Viniculture themed bathrooms.

Okay.

Okay.

Imagine one vineyard machine that can prune, harvest, monitor vine health, and help guide irrigation decisions throughout the season.

Welcome to Sustainable Wine Growing with Vineyard Team, where we bring you the latest in science and research for the wine industry.

I'm Beth McManick.

Today, Craig McMillan, critical resource manager at Niner Wine Estates, with longtime SIP certified vineyard and the first ever SIP certified winery, speaks with Minaj Karki, the Norman R. and Sharon R. Scott Professor of Agricultural Science at Cornell University.

If you enjoyed today's conversation and want to learn more about vineyard fleet modernization, you won't want to miss Eric Striegler's talk about how to make smarter equipment decisions by leveraging grant opportunities, fleet management strategies in planned equipment transitions at the Sustainable Ag Expo, taking place November 10th through 11th, 2026 in San Luis Obispo, California.

And don't forget, as a podcast listener, you can save $50 on your two-day ticket with code POD50.

Learn more and register today at sustainableagexpo.org. Make sure you check out the show notes for links to Minaj, the Cornell University Ag Robotics Lab, and related Sustainable Wine Growing podcast episodes, 249, Making It Easier to Use Satellite Data in Agriculture, and 312, Why the Best Ag Tech is Built with Growers.

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