After six months of development, the Commission staff is excited to launched this new grower-oriented website. Thank you for visiting www.lodigrowers.com. This website fills an important and previously unmet need. The site is a “one-stop shop” for information on the full extent of grower resources provided by the Commission. We hope you find the website useful, and encourage you to bookmark the site or set it to be your internet home page so that it is easy to visit on a regular basis. Our goal is to meet your needs, and lodigrowers.com will continually be updating with new and relevant information. Read on to discover more about the website’s major features. Better yet, now that you are here, take some time to explore the website and see for yourself.
With guidance from the Research, Education, and Communication Committee, lodigrowers.com is designed to be a “living” website. The site will be updated regularly with new content. You can access information including weather forecasts, a calendar of Commission meetings and events, and a rolling Lodi Grower (@Lodigrowers) Twitter feed (see “Follow the LWC on Twitter” in this newsletter).
You are currently reading the main feature of the website – the “Coffee Shop”. The Coffee Shop is science-based blog for practical viticulture research and technology written by local experts and growers. New articles will be posted biweekly at the least, so be sure to check in frequently for the latest updates. Our trusted county UCCE farm adviser, Paul Verdegaal, will be a regular contributor. Paul has been writing insightful articles for the Commission’s print newsletters for years, and we are happy to extend this partnership with him. Stan Grant of Progressive Viticulture will also be a frequent contributor. Stan is a soil scientist by training and is a prolific author of original viticulture research articles published in journals like Practical Winery and Vineyard Journal. Stan also writes articles for Mid Valley Agricultural Service newsletters. Both Paul and Stan understand growers’ needs and we are fortunate to tap into their expertise.
In the “Marketplace,” you will find a grower and vineyard supplier directory. The searchable grower directory is a voluntary listing of growers, the varieties they produce, Lodi Rules certification status, and contact information. This directory will be useful for connecting wineries that are looking to purchase winegrapes with Lodi growers. The vineyard supplier directory is a searchable version of the Commission’s printed 2013 Vineyard Supplier Directory. This directory can be used to easily look up local businesses offering vineyard products and services.
Interested in building new relationships with winegrape buyers but are not already in the grower directory? To be added contact Molly Bjork at (209) 367-4727 or at molly@lodiwine.com.
The “Library” is an extensive compilation of viticulture publications. Included in the library are Commission newsletters dating back to 2000 along with information about the invaluable Lodi Winegrowers Workbook. The library also contains a database of 192 (and growing) articles which are searchable by topic, author, year and title. This resource should prove useful for growers looking for references on topics such as particular pests, trellis systems, or quality enhancement practices. All articles included in the library are viewable online or can be downloaded as printable PDFs.
This website also houses a comprehensive set of Lodi Rules resources. In the “Grower Resources” section, certified growers can access current lists of PEAS units, current year certification deadlines, vineyard sign order forms, certification manuals, and other frequently requested documents. New to the Lodi Rules certification program? We also outline the step-by-step certification process. In the Lodi Rules “Winery Resources” section, wineries interested in sourcing Lodi Rules-certified grapes and using the Certified Green seal on their labels will find everything they need from application instructions to advice on sourcing certified grapes.
