Your vineyard can tell you everything you need to know about producing premium wine grapes. If you don't know how to listen or aren't sure what they're trying to say, Doug Meador — author of The New Viticulture and an avant garde viticulturist — can show you how. Meador joins a long list of top viticulture experts, researchers, growers and managers who will speak at the Central Coast VINE Symposium, March 15-16, 2011 at the Paso Robles Event Center in Paso Robles, Calif.

Meador is the founder and former owner of the world-class Ventana Vineyard in Monterey County. For the past 30 years, he has researched and explored viticulture thought and practices affecting vineyard practices.  He also pioneered many of today's practices such as basal leaf removal, varietal identification and clonal isolation.

At VINE, Meador will discuss his "new" system of viticulture and how growers can use it to make in-season management decisions. According to Meador, vineyards tell growers what they need to know, they just have to know how to listen and adapt management decisions accordingly.

In his book, The New Viticulture, Meador writes,"The idea that the old system of 'do this, do that' is not a fair generalization to apply to all vineyards. His description of the 'new" system of viticulture poses a contradiction to the conventional methods of vine management.

According to VINE meeting host and plant physiologist, Lowell Zelinski, Meador is a great addition to a lineup of exceptional speakers.

"I am very excited to have Doug Meador speakat the second annual VINE Symposium," Zelinski said. "He'll add an interesting perspective to the agenda. His presentation should be very enlightening and will challenge our ideas about vine management."

Zelinski - a former University of California Extension agent will also speak at the meeting. He is a researcher, consulting agronomist and vineyard manager who owns Paso Robles-based Precision Ag Consulting.

The theme of this year's meeting is "Survival of the Fittest: Adapting to changes in the vineyard and marketplace." Speakers for the two-day production will address topics that will help growers face new challenges in the wine industry.  Speakers include:

•Professors Keith Patterson from Cal Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo and Larry  Williams for the University of California, Davis

• Vineyard managers Dana Merrill of Mesa Vineyard Management and Jim Stollberg of Maverick Farming Co.

• Plant pathologists Doug Gubler from the University of California, Davis and Judit Monis of STA Laboratories, Inc.

• Viticulturist Carrie Wood, Ph.D.

• Grower Rich Smith of Paraiso Vineyards

• Kris O'Conner from the Central Coast Vineyard Team

• Matt Turrentine of Turrentine Brokerage. 

VINE is a unique meeting tailored to address topics specific to viticulture production on the Central Coast. The meeting provides a forum to teach and discuss production information that will help improve yields and quality, decrease production costs and keep abreast new technology and techniques for professionals within the wine grape industry.

To register or for more information, call (805) 434-3331 or visit

http://www.vinesymposium.com/