Cornell University : Cornell Cooperative Extension
Finger Lakes Grape Program Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Ontario & Yates Counties |
Cornell University
Cooperative Extension |
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Cornell University : Cornell Cooperative Extension
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Hans Walter-Peterson, Area Extension Viticulture Specialist Timothy
Weigle, Area Extension Grape Pest Management Specialist Bill Wilsey , Program Assistant Jamie Hawk , Sustainable Viticulture Educator jdh73@cornell.edu
Hans Walter-Peterson Named to Finger Lakes Viticulture Position PENN YAN, NY: Hans Walter-Peterson has been hired as the new viticulture extension educator for the Finger Lakes Grape Program. He comes to the position after spending the past 5½ years in a similar position with the Lake Erie Regional Grape Program (LERGP), based in Fredonia, NY.
Walter-Peterson received his B.A. degree in biology in 1990 from St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN, and his M.S. degree in viticulture from the University of California – Davis in 2001. Since finishing his graduate studies, he has worked for Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) as the viticulture extension educator for the LERGP in the Lake Erie grape belt of western New York and northwestern Pennsylvania, which is one of the country’s largest grape growing regions outside of California. “I think I bring a unique set of skills and experiences to this job, between my experience working with low cost, high production growers of Concord and Niagara grapes in the Lake Erie region, and the education and experience that I gained while studying with some of the best viticulturists in the world at UC-Davis,” Walter-Peterson said. Walter-Peterson said that, while much of the time during his first season in the Finger Lakes will be devoted to getting to know growers and the industry in general, he has some ideas for programs that he can start developing for growers right away. “I think there are some things that we have been working on lately with the growers in the Lake Erie region that I can bring to the industry in the Finger Lakes right away,” he said. Some of the topics that he plans to work on include ways to evaluate and improve vineyard soils, managing vineyards’ water requirements during the growing season, reducing vine injury due to winter cold temperatures and spring frosts, estimating and controlling cropping levels in vineyards, and other practices that can help to improve the quality and profitability of grapes that are grown in the region, whether they are processed into grape juice or fine wines. “The Finger Lakes has earned a reputation as one of the finest grape growing and wine producing regions in the United States, if not the world. I want to help the industry strengthen that reputation even further,” Walter-Peterson said. Walter-Peterson moves into the position which was previously held by Tim Martinson, who was recently hired to coordinate CCE’s viticulture extension programs across New York State. Martinson’s promotion and Walter-Peterson’s hiring are part of a larger movement by Cornell University and CCE to expand the resources available to the state’s growing grape and wine industry, which has a $3.3 billion impact on the state’s economy. Cornell has expanded grape and wine outreach on Long Island and in the Hudson and Champlain valleys, created new enology and viticulture curricula for undergraduates, and plans to build a new research and extension facility in the Lake Erie region. Three new enology and viticulture faculty members have been hired, and a search is underway to fill the position recently vacated by Dr. Thomas Henick-Kling, who directed wine research and extension at Cornell since 1987.
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Finger
Lakes Grape Program | Last updated: 6/4/07 |
“I am very excited to have the opportunity to work in what I feel is one of the most diverse and exciting grape industries in the world,” Walter-Peterson stated. “One day, you can be working with a grower who is trying to increase his yield of Concord grapes while reducing his production costs in order to remain profitable. The next day, you’re working with someone who is trying to improve the quality of her Riesling grapes so her wines will be able to compete with some of the best made anywhere in the world. As the viticulture extension educator for the region, I need to be able to address the needs of both of those growers, and the challenge of trying to do that excites me.”