Saturday, August 1, 2009 at 10:00 am

Village Vineyard and Winery

345 N Vermont St, Camp Point, IL 62320

There are three factors, sugar, acid, and pH, which can be tracked weekly after veraison that will reach optimum levels when the grapes are ready to harvest for winemaking. Accurately and quickly measuring these three factors is a skill needed by both grape growers and winemakers alike, in order to produce top quality wines. This workshop, sponsored by Illinois Grape Growers and Vintners Association, Viticulture and Enology Science and Technology Alliance at Rend Lake College, University of Illinois Extension and Illinois Department of Agriculture is designed to give participants hands on experience working with special equipment used in measuring and determining grape ripeness. In addition to vineyard sampling of differing grape varieties and other fruits, winemakers are also invited to bring wine samples for analysis as well.

Workshop participants will meet at Village Vineyard and Winery, which is located northeast of Quincy in Adams County. Registration fees will be taken at the door starting at 9:30am and will be $25.00 per person. The program is scheduled to run from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm, followed by lunch. Please RSVP to Gordon Cantrell at chsbb32@adams.net for an accurate lunch count.

From Jacksonville, take US-67 N/ IL-104 west toward Beardstown/ Macomb. Travel just over 13.5 miles and turn left to stay on IL-104. Travel 4.0 miles before turning right onto IL-99. Travel just over 15.0 miles, then turn left onto US-24/ 800 E/ IL-99. Continue to follow US-24 for just over 17.0 miles before turning right onto South Ohio Street. Turn right onto East State Street. East State Street becomes North Vermont Street. The winery entrance will be on the right (east).

Don't forget to dress for the weather, since some of the workshop time will be spent in the vineyard. This is a hands on workshop, and participants are encouraged to bring their personal gear, including pruners, gloves and work boots. All testing equipment will be supplied, but participants are encouraged to bring their personal refractometer and or portable pH meter.

For more details or if disability accommodations are required, please contact Elizabeth Wahle at (618) 692-9434 or by email at wahle@uiuc.edu.