UC Davis experts: Winemaking

UC Davis has broad expertise in the area of grape growing and winemaking.

Economics, history and environment

• Wine industry economics and trends
• Wine business economics
• Wine grape marketing, industrial organization and contracting
• History of California winemaking
• Grape growing and global climate change

Quality, flavor and health benefits

• High-tech scanning for spoiled wine
• Flavor, aroma, texture and color of wine and grapes
• Wine chemistry and tumor delay
• Wine chemistry and health benefits

Winemaking

• Yeasts in winemaking
• Optimizing winemaking processes
• Winery design and engineering

ECONOMICS, HISTORY AND ENVIRONMENT

Wine industry economics and trends

Robert Smiley, a professor in UC Davis' Graduate School of Management, is a noted wine economist who studies global and national trends in the industry. He conducts annual surveys of wine industry insiders and CEOs of wineries, vineyards, distributors and wine sellers. He presents his research and findings at industry meetings, and offers executive education programs for wine industry professionals. His wine industry work is part of a broader research program that examines competitive strategy, economics and economic trends, industrial structure, public policy analysis, antitrust policy and regulation. Contact: Robert Smiley, Graduate School of Management, (530) 752-7662, .

Wine business economics

Robert Yetman, an associate professor of management, can talk about the business of wine, from retail pricing to accounting, finance and management issues. Yetman conducts an annual survey of California wine prices and is a faculty member in the UC Davis Graduate School of Management's Wine Executive Program. Contact: Robert Yetman, Graduate School of Management, (530) 752-3571, .

Wine grape marketing, industrial organization and contracting

Rachael Goodhue, an associate professor of agricultural and resource economics, is an expert on California's wine grape economy. She can discuss wine grape marketing, industrial organization and contracting, among other topics. Goodhue is director of the Robert Mondavi Institute Center on Wine Economics and Business at UC Davis. Contact: Rachael Goodhue, Agricultural and Resource Economics, (530) 754-7812, .

History of California winemaking

Jim Lapsley is an internationally known author, winemaker and instructor in the Department of Viticulture and Enology. His research focuses on the economics of wine production and marketing, and the history of California wine. Lapsley has authored "Bottled Poetry," a history of the emergence of the Napa Valley as it evolved into California's premiere wine region. He co-edited the book "Successful Wine Marketing." From 1980 to 2002, Lapsley was president and winemaker for Orleans Hill Winery, which specialized in wine produced from organically grown grapes. In addition to his position in the viticulture and enology department, he is chair of the Department of Science, Agriculture and Natural Resources within the UC Davis Extension Program, where he develops and administers courses for more than 10,000 continuing education students each year. Contact: Jim Lapsley, Viticulture and Enology, (530) 757-8692, .

Grape growing and global climate change

David Smart, a plant physiologist in the Department of Viticulture and Enology, has been extensively involved in global climate change research, examining how elevated carbon dioxide in the atmosphere influences nitrogen and carbon cycling in plants and soil. His laboratory is using geochemical approaches to determine where and when grapevine roots are absorbing water and nutrients. His research focuses on root physiology and soil nutrient cycling, and his current interests relate to the physiological process of root aging and the biology of roots under field conditions. He currently has a project in the Napa Valley that examines the role that vineyards play in the uptake and storage of carbon in the environment and how that differs from the similar process in oak woodlands. Contact: David Smart, Viticulture and Enology, (530) 754-7143, .

QUALITY, FLAVOR AND HEALTH BENEFITS

High-tech scanning for spoiled wine

Some bottles of wine are worth thousands of dollars, but if oxygen has leaked past the cork, it could be thousand-dollar vinegar. Matt Augustine, a professor of chemistry at UC Davis, and his students have developed a machine that uses magnetic resonance scanning, similar to a medical MRI scan, to examine the chemical makeup of the contents of a bottle of wine without opening it. The patented technology has been licensed for commercial development. Augustine is also working on applying the same principles for detecting liquid explosives in sealed containers. Contact: Matt Augustine, Chemistry, (530) 754-7550, .

Flavor, aroma, texture and color of wine and grapes

Hildegarde Heymann is a professor and sensory scientist in the Department of Viticulture and Enology. She is an authority on the sensory characteristics of wines -- their flavor, aroma, feel and color. She has an extensive background in sensory evaluation of foods including meat, ice cream, cereals and juices as well as nonfood products such as cat litter, soap and toothpaste. In recent years she has studied food-wine interactions, wine color perception and the effects of drying methods on the sensory characteristics of raisins. She also is working with colleagues on the sensory evaluation of grapes and wines. She is the co-author of the sensory textbook "Sensory Evaluation of Foods: Principles and Practices," currently the most required sensory textbook worldwide. Contact: Hildegarde Heymann, Viticulture and Enology, (530) 754-4816, .

Wine chemistry and tumor delay

Susan Ebeler, a professor and wine chemist, studies how analytical chemistry techniques can be used to evaluate wine flavors and the chemical mechanisms underlying observed health effects of wine and wine components. She and colleagues have shown that certain chemicals known as polyphenols interact with flavor compounds in solution. These scientists are currently working to determine the effects of these interactions on flavor and sensory perception of wines. Their health-related research has shown that wine contains compounds that can delay tumor formation in laboratory animals. The research team is working to identify specific compounds that may be responsible for this delay and help explain the mechanisms by which those compounds slow tumor formation. Contact: Susan Ebeler, Viticulture and Enology, (530) 752-0696, .

Wine chemistry and health benefits

Andrew Waterhouse is an internationally recognized wine chemist in the Department of Viticulture and Enology. His research focuses on the chemistry of phenolic compounds, which are chemicals that occur naturally in fruits and vegetables. He is particularly interested in how these compounds affect wine taste and the health of wine consumers. He also is studying the effect of oxidation on wine chemistry and how this process affects wine taste and color. In addition, Waterhouse is working to develop new analytical methods for wine analysis. He and colleagues are applying a number of different methods to observe the effects of new grape or wine treatments now being offered by various companies. In earlier research, his laboratory investigated how different toasting procedures for oak and chestnut wood affected the composition and taste of wine stored in barrels made from these woods. Contact: Andrew Waterhouse, Viticulture and Enology, (530) 752-4777, .

WINEMAKING

Yeasts in winemaking

Linda Bisson, trained as a microbiologist, is a professor of enology and a geneticist in the Agricultural Experiment Station. Her research focuses on carbon and energy sources in yeast, using the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae because it can easily be genetically manipulated. Her research is important from a very fundamental perspective, but also has broad application in both winemaking and medicine. "Stuck" or incomplete fermentations are a problem in winemaking, caused by the failure of the yeast to consume all of the available sugar. Bisson holds the Maynard A. Amerine Endowed Chair in Viticulture and Enology created by the Gallo Family Educational Trust. She is a member of the advisory boards of the American Viticulture and Enology Research Network and science editor for the American Journal of Enology and Viticulture. More information is available at http://wineserver.ucdavis.edu/people/faculty.php?id=2. Contact: Linda Bisson, (530) 752-3835, .

Optimizing winemaking processes

David Block is a professor of viticulture and enology and of chemical engineering. His research has focused on technologies that use historical process data and artificial intelligence to optimize wine fermentations and biopharmaceutical fermentations. Recently, his work has included applications for biofuel production, including the study of increased alcohol tolerance in microorganisms and of bio-based fuels. His laboratory also is working on developing technologies and methods for preventing "stuck" and sluggish alcoholic fermentations, an important problem in the wine industry. Block also is collaborating with researchers in the UC Davis Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering to improve processes for applying biological control agents used to control fungal diseases in grapevines and other crops. Contact: David Block, Viticulture and Enology, (530) 754-6046, .

Winery design and engineering

Roger Boulton, a professor of viticulture and enology, studies the chemical and biochemical engineering aspects of winemaking and distilled spirits production. His work involves fermentation and reaction kinetics; physical and chemical stability of wines; the mathematical modeling, computer simulation and control of winemaking operations; and winery design. His current research includes measuring and predicting color phenomenon in red wines in real time, as well as fermentation interests involving juice composition and sulfide formation. Contact: Roger Boulton, Viticulture and Enology, (530) 752-0900, .

Media contact(s):

• Pat Bailey, UC Davis News Service, (530) 752-9843,

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