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Project directors Robert Skirvin Mosbah Kushad  Participate in a viticulture discussion group |
 In accordance with state legislation enacted in 1997, the Grape and Wine Resources Council has been approved. The council will be chaired by the Dean of the College of Agriculture, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.  The Dean of the College of Agricultural,
Consumer and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, will also be on the Council. The Council and its members will
provide services to the grape and wine production industries to promote
growth and economic development. The legislation includes a funding
appropriation through the Division of Tourism of the Department of Commerce
and Community Affairs to support research and development, educational
programs, and efforts to promote a greater share of Illinois-made wines in
Illinois, but the Council cannot enter into any effort to regulate the price of grapes.
Expanding the Commercial Grape and Wine Industry in Illinois activities will include 1) onsite visits to members of the Illinois Grape Growers and Vintners Association (view a sample membership application) and collection of information concerning their production methods, cultivars and plans; 2) establishment of a cultivar trial to find cultivars suited to the various climatic regions of Illinois; 3) establishment of a rootstock trial to study a possible relationship between winter hardiness and particular rootstocks; and 4) the development and maintenance of this World Wide Web site that will make the results of studies and other information on research, marketing, and publicity available to growers and the public. Expanding the Commercial Grape and Wine Industry in Illinois was originally funded by the Illinois Council on Food and Agricultural Research (C-FAR), a statewide coalition supporting food and agricultural systems. Skirvin, Otterbacher (retired), and Kushad are members of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences at UIUC; McPheeters is retired from Information Technology and Communication Services at UIUC. |
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Last updated November15, 2007 |
