A Texas AgriLife Extension Service-sponsored “Prospective Wine-Grape Growers Workshop” is scheduled for 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on Dec. 3 in Fredericksburg.

The workshop will be presented at the AgriLife Extension office, Gillespie County Agriculture Building, 95 Frederick Road. Program registration will take place from 8:30-9 a.m.

“This workshop will be useful to those considering planting a commercial vineyard or for those who already have a vineyard and want to expand planting to a commercial scale,” said Penny Adams, AgriLife Extension viticulture advisor for the Hill Country.

Adams said the workshop was created by the Texas AgriLife Extension Viticulture Team to address the most common concerns small-scale producers may have prior to committing valuable resources towards a commercial vineyard enterprise.

Workshop topics include: necessary viticulture expertise, vineyard site selection, risk factors, vineyard labor requirements and vineyard economics.

Adams and Fran Pontasch, AgriLife Extension’s viticulture advisor for North Texas, will provide program instruction.

“If an individual decides to plant a vineyard after completing this informative workshop, Texas Agrilife Extension Service also offers an array of other programs to teach the nuts and bolts of grape growing in Texas,” Adams said.

AgriLife Extension presents a prospective growers workshop every six to eight weeks in regions of Texas conducive to wine-grape production, offering about eight workshops annually, Adams noted. She added that the next workshop would be held in Lubbock sometime in January.

The prospective growers workshop is a prerequisite for registration and acceptance into the Texas Tech Viticulture Certificate Program, she added. Cost for the workshop is $125 per person or $200 per couple, and includes educational materials and lunch.

Registration can be completed only through AgriLife Conference Services at their Web site or by calling 979-845-2604.

For program information, contact Adams at 830-997-7047 or [email protected], or Fran Pontasch at 254-968-4144 or [email protected].

More information on growing wine grapes in Texas can be found at http://winegrapes.tamu.edu/.