FGGA Annual Meeting

Florida Grape Growers Association Annual Meeting

The Florida Gape Growers Association held its annual meeting last month in Ocala at the very-accommodating Hilton Hotel. It was a swell event with great subjects covered by some very knowledgeable people. Unfortunately, every time I’m exposed to an opportunity to learn more about the business of muscadine grape growing and wine making, I realize just how much I don’t know.

One thing I learned, nonetheless, was how much research is going on by the Florida Viticulture Center in Tallahassee and the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. Both are playing a huge role in developing a muscadine grape varietal that will make world class wine and withstand the rigors or Florida’s hot and humid climate.

It was very apparent, however, that funding for such programs is highly competitive, i.e., difficult to come by, and needs our support. Support can be given by writing, emailing or calling your local state legislator every time you hear about an issue that affects us. Maybe our local FGGA chapters can develop an “issue alert” for us and give us a rallying cry when our mutual interests are about to be impacted. Keeping a list handy of the names and email addresses of your particular legislators is a good idea. You can easily find such information on the internet under: http://myflorida.com/portal/Government or http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/ or http://www.flsenate.gov/

It was obvious that a lot of work went into organizing the annual event. Clearly, Frank Ascolillo and his wife worked some very long hours planning and preparing for it. They certainly have my congratulations for a very successful and meaningful learning experience.

There were several discussions that were of particular interest to me:

There is a new software program developed by Bonniejean and Bob Paulish that will help wineries meet new federal product tracking and reporting requirements. I have dreams of opening a small winery one day and had no idea that the issue of Homeland Security will have such an impact on its operation. If you haven’t heard about the new cradle-to-grave reporting requirements, it’s a blessing, unless you want to sell your wine. You can reach Bob or Bonniejean at 813-633-8692. Bob's email is bob.paulish@att.net.

Dr. Charles Sims is the man to call if you run into problems with your wine making. He seemed to know all there is to know about the chemical end of the process which, to me, is both amazing and maddeningly delicate. Only slight variations in the multiple steps it takes to make a decent wine can make it very “indecent” in a heartbeat. Dr. Sims can be reached via email at casims@ifas.ufl.edu and by phone at 352 392-1991 x 202. He’s a scientist with IFAS at the University of Florida.

For those of us looking forward to attempting to open a winery, Frank Ascolillo gave a very enlightening talk on the traps and pitfalls of the federal and state licensing processes. Apparently not a venture for the faint of heart. He pointed out that while there are folks who want to help you, it can be a frustrating experience. If you have an interest in this area, Frank can be reached at fascolillo@atlantic.net or 352-249-9116 … and good luck.

There were many other topics on the agenda that once again reinforced the fact that, in this business, for every cup of knowledge gained there are buckets more you need to know … and if you want to know more about what was presented at the conference, Bob Paulish announced that a CD of all presentations will be available from the FGGA soon.