The Sonoma County Winegrape Commission and California Association of Winegrape Growers (CAWG) are sponsoring a Smart Marketer Seminar on Thursday, August 16, from 4:00-6:00pm at the Hilton Hotel in Santa Rosa. Check-in begins at 3:45pm. There is no cost to attend.

The seminar begins with Brian Clements of Turrentine Brokerage providing a pre-harvest update on the status of the current grape and bulk wine market as well as strategies for 2013.

A panel of growers will discuss vineyard mechanization and efficiencies, including: multi-row hedging, machinery that multi-tasks, single and multi-row leafing, and harvesting equipment. The panelists are Scott Johnsen of Gallo, Jeffrey Zick of Unti, and Towle Merritt of Walsh Vineyard Management. Video and Power Point presentations will help describe the mechanized operations.

Register online to attend by August 13 at: www.sonomawinegrape.org/smartmarketer . For more information, contact Karen at 707-522-5862 or ipm@sonomawinegrape.org.