Friday, September 10, 2021
CapitalPress.com 5
WSU wine scientists
run studies to combat
smoke exposure
By SIERRA DAWN MCCLAIN
Capital Press
RICHLAND, Wash.
— As winegrape harvest
approaches and wild-
fi res rip across the West,
Washington State Uni-
versity scientists are con-
ducting new research to
help growers prepare for
— and combat — smoke
exposure.
Last year’s wildfi re
season left many Wash-
ington vineyards coated
in ash and damaged by
smoke, making many
acres of winegrapes
unharvestable.
This
year,
WSU
researchers are trying to
“get ahead” of the har-
vest and help growers
prepare for smoke expo-
sure. The scientists are
running several projects
this September, includ-
ing installing air qual-
ity sensors in vineyards,
exposing grapes to simu-
lated smoke in the lab and
using protective sprays
on grapes.
“Our research program
goes essentially from
grape to glass,” said Tom
Collins, assistant profes-
sor at the WSU Wine Sci-
ence Center. “We’re look-
ing at everything from
what to do on the vine-
yard side to be better pre-
pared, to when we start
to bring the fruit in, tools
we can use to change the
winemaking process.”
The fi rst piece of
WSU’s research is pre-
ventive: using “barrier”
sprays on grapes.
One type of bar-
rier spray is made when
researchers mix together
water and kaolin clay,
also known as white or
china clay, and spray the
solution on winegrapes.
Based on previous
experiments, Collins said
kaolin appears to absorb
and hold smoke particles,
protecting the grapes.
Collins predicts that
when researchers this fall
spray down grapes with
water right before har-
vesting, the barrier coat-
ing will run off , taking
the particles with it and
leaving clean grapes.
Another piece of
WSU’s research will
involve monitoring air
quality near vineyards
and tracking smoke’s
movements through a
region.
C u r -
rently,
g r o w -
ers
rely
on Wash-
i n g t o n ’s
Tom Collins air qual-
ity moni-
toring network, with air
monitoring stations based
in urban centers around
the state. Although these
stations are useful, Col-
lins said, there aren’t
enough stations and they
don’t accurately moni-
tor what’s happening in
rural areas where vine-
yards are.
This fall, funded by the
Washington State Wine
Commission and other
groups, Collins’ team is
installing 14 air qual-
ity sensors in commer-
cial vineyards through-
out central Washington
to collect smoke density
information and airfl ow
data. The researchers
plan to install more sen-
sors in the coming years.
The goal is to create pre-
dictive models that warn
growers about where
smoke is worst and where
it might be headed next.
The researchers are
also studying direct
smoke impacts.
“We’re trying to fi g-
ure out how much smoke
it takes for winegrapes to
be at risk,” said Layton
Ashmore, a WSU doc-
toral candidate in food
science.
The researchers are
studying how much
smoke is harmful to
grapes and smoke from
what plants is worst —
for example, comparing
smoke from rangeland
plants versus woodlands.
“It’s one of the most
complicated issues to face
the wine industry in a long
time,” said Melissa Han-
son, research program
director for the Wash-
ington State Wine Com-
mission. “The impact of
smoke on grapes depends
on many factors, from
length of time exposed,
which variety, proximity
to fi re, type of material
burning, freshness of the
smoke, weather patterns
and more.”
Hanson said the wine
industry has already
learned a lot, but there’s
still much more to
understand.
Oregon timber company dips toe into wine
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
The potential for wild-
fi res and stricter regulations
has convinced an Oregon
timber company to dip its
toe into the wine industry.
Hampton Lumber of
Portland has bought the
Carlton Winemakers Stu-
dio from its founders for an
undisclosed sum, building
on earlier vineyard invest-
ments in Polk and Yamhill
counties.
The studio operates as
an incubator for indepen-
dent winemakers who use
the facility’s equipment and
sell products through its tast-
ing room.
It was founded in 2002
by Eric Hamacher and Luisa
Ponzi, who hailed from the
wine industry, with the help
of builders Ned and Kirsten
Lumpkin.
The investment made
more sense for Hampton
than buying or develop-
ing a winery, which would
entail specialized marketing
expertise and holding sev-
eral years worth of inven-
tory, said Steve Zika, the
company’s CEO.
“This is a nice logical
step where we could tip-
toe into the next step,” Zika
said. “It’s a really interesting
way to get further into the
Sierra Dawn McClain/Capital Press
Hampton Lumber has diversifi ed into the wine industry with investments in vine-
yards and a winemakers’ studio.
industry.”
The opportunity for
growth in Oregon’s forest
products industry is limited
due to wildfi re danger and
likely regulatory changes on
private lands, he said.
Timber companies are
negotiating with environ-
mental groups and Gov.
Kate Brown’s offi ce on a
potential “habitat conserva-
tion plan” for federally pro-
tected species on private
lands, he said.
Vineyards and wine-mak-
ing off er an opportunity
to diversify for Hampton
Lumber, though the timber
industry will remain its main
focus, Zika said. The com-
pany owns 280,000 acres
of forestland in Oregon and
Washington and operates 10
mills along the West Coast.
Earlier this year, Hamp-
ton roughly doubled its tim-
berland holdings with the
purchase of 145,000 acres in
northwest Washington from
the Weyerhaeuser Co. for
about $265 million.
Hampton entered the
wine industry in 2016, when
it planted a property near
Monmouth with grapevines
in anticipation of a land sale
that ultimately fell through.
The company held on
to the vineyard and bought
another one near Carlton
two years later. Grapes from
the two properties, which
total about 130 acres, are
sold to eight wineries in the
area.
The wine industry may
present opportunities for
members of the Hampton
family who want to pursue
career paths outside the tim-
ber industry, Zika said. The
family’s involvement in tim-
ber stretches 80 years and
four generations.
Since it’s not a pub-
licly held fi rm with a nar-
row focus, Hampton is
fl exible to make unique
investments, he said. “We
can do things like that in
terms of fun as a private
company.”
EFSC refuses to remove judge presiding over B2H project
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
Oregon energy regula-
tors have refused to remove
an administrative law judge
overseeing the dispute
over the 300-mile Board-
man-to-Hemingway trans-
mission line project.
The transmission line
proposal is currently in a
“contested case proceed-
ing,” which is the fi nal step
before the state’s Energy
Facility Siting Council votes
whether to approve it.
Farmers along the route
have opposed the project for
taking land out of produc-
tion and disrupting agricul-
tural practices, while other
critics worry about impacts
to wildlife, cultural and rec-
reational values.
The transmission line
would connect Boardman,
Ore., with the Hemingway
substation in southwestern
Idaho, which the developer,
Idaho Power, claims is nec-
essary to meet consumer
power demands.
The state’s Department
of Energy recommended
the project be authorized
last year, triggering the con-
tested case proceedings.
One of the project’s
opponents, Irene Gilbert
of La Grande, Ore., sought
to remove the administra-
tive law judge in charge
of the case, Alison Greene
Webster, for alleged bias
and incompetence in her
decisions.
According
to
the
request, the administrative
judge didn’t ensure oppo-
nents got a “full, fair and
impartial hearing” or meet
other legal requirements,
and instead “ignored rules
and statutes” to benefi t
Idaho Power and the state’s
Department of Energy.
Gilbert claims the judge
has issued “clearly prejudi-
cial rulings” in favor of proj-
ect supporters on forestland
impacts and other issues
while limiting the participa-
tion of project opponents in
the procedures.
“Ms. Webster has a track
record that cannot con-
tinue to be ignored,” Gilbert
said during a recent EFSC
hearing.
An attorney for Idaho
Power urged EFSC to deny
the request because Gilbert
simply disagrees with rul-
ings that were within the
judge’s authority but did not
demonstrate prejudice or
incompetence.
“She hasn’t provided any
legal argument as to why
those decisions were wrong
or how they show bias,” said
Lisa Rackner, the develop-
er’s attorney.
Jesse Ratcliff e, an attor-
ney from the state’s Depart-
ment of Justice who’s advis-
ing EFSC, said there’s a
high bar to prove an admin-
istrative judge should be
removed due to bias.
None of the complaints
in Gilbert’s request rise to
the level that would war-
rant removing an adminis-
trative judge, Ratcliff e said.
“Sometimes there are tough
calls but there is no evidence
of bias or incompetence I
see here.”
Cover your assets
with winter cover crops!
•Increase yields •Conserve soil moisture •Reduce weeds
•Cut fertilizer costs •Improve soil health •Use as winter forage
Rob Duerst • Cher Gillson • Brandon Bishop
(877) FOR-IOKA • info@iokamarketing.com • Silverton, OR
S235347-1
S235342-1
S226464-1