The Vineyard & Winery Show is proud to announce two international experts who will host seminars on the day.  Seminar sessions will take place throughout the day, in affiliation with WineGB, and will cover viticulture, winemaking and marketing topics, along with a dedicated session aimed at new entrants to the industry. 

Yield and quality are always a hot topic in viticulture and Dr Gregory Dunn will share his expertise during the seminar session titled, ‘High achievers:  yield and quality.’

Dr Gregory Dunn is the head of the wine division at Plumpton College, training oenologists and viticulturists at undergraduate and postgraduate level.  Greg completed his PhD in the Botany Department at the University of Melbourne in the 1990s.  For the last two decades Greg has acted in a range of positions in research, education and training in the Australian wine industry, including for DPI Victoria, the University of Melbourne and the National Grape and Wine Industry Centre in Wagga Wagga, NSW. Greg is currently deputy editor for the Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research.  Greg has contributed to and led a range of research and development programmes into yield forecasting, yield development and yield management in vineyards.

Dr Gregory Dunn commented: “Securing profitable and reliable vineyard yields underpins a successful wine industry. However, yield is very much a multi-faceted issue involving, among other things, the weather, vine spacing and management, how the site interacts with the cultivar, management of pests and disease and abiotic stresses such as frost. In a marginal climate like the UK it is doubly important that all of these factors are considered and managed appropriately.”

Dr Alistair Nesbitt will look at the future climatic conditions for grape growing in the UK in the semina , ‘Planning to plant a vineyard’, aimed at both existing vineyard owners and those considering a vineyard.

Dr Alistair Nesbitt, from VineScapes, is a Viticulture Climatologist with significant expertise in how weather and climate interface with wine production, globally. He holds a PhD in viticulture and climate science and a BSc and Master’s degree in Viticulture & Oenology. Alistair lectures internationally on viticulture – climate relations, consults to new vineyards, governments and the global wine industry, drawing on 20-years’ experience to help UK wine production businesses establish and operate sustainably.

Dr Alistair Nesbitt commented: “The UK viticulture and winemaking sectors are developing rapidly and the climate in which they operate is also changing fast. I am really looking forward to talking with attendees about both recent and projected future climate change and what it may mean for UK growers over the next 20-30-years. For those thinking of establishing vineyards in the UK looking to the future has never been so important.”