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NASA Helps California Winegrowers
By Robert Myers
Multimedia Producer
posted: 01:56 pm ET
31 August 2001
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satellite_wine_010831Wine growers in California are getting a leg up from NASA in their efforts to match the experience of European vintners. Using data from satellites and airplane images of grape crops, agency scientists are adding to the winegrower's knowledge of how to best utilize their fields. "In certain regions of France, grapes have been grown for more than 1,700 years. Vintners in these regions have had abundant time to understand how vintage varies throughout the vineyard," said Lee Johnson, a research scientist at NASAs Ames Research Center in Californias Silicon Valley, and the study's principal investigator. "By contrast, the majority of vineyard development in California's Napa Valley has occurred since the mid-1960s," he said. By identifying how the grapes grow differently, even in different parts of the same field, vintners will be better able to create wines with specific flavors. "For hundreds of years, winegrowers have known that grapes harvested from different areas in their vineyards can produce wines with unique flavors and tastes," said Tim Mondavi, winegrower and vice-chairman of Robert Mondavi Winery, Oakville, Calif. "We are now using NASAs advanced remote-sensing technologies to understand the subtle nuances of our vineyards, and with astounding results," he said. NASA began studying California vineyards in 1993 when trying to stamp out an infection that was killing the plants' roots.
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