Unearth what it takes to Be a Better Grape Grower.
Host Fritz Westover shares best practices for being a successful winegrape grower, offers practical tips for your vineyard, and answers questions from growers like you.
Recent Episodes
109: How Vineyard Decisions Impact the Wine Microbiome with Dr. Jack Gilbert
Leading microbial ecologist from UC San Diego, Dr. Jack Gilbert joins us to talk about how soil and management decisions shape the vine and wine microbiome. We start by defining what a microbiome is in plain vineyard terms, and Dr. Gilbert explains how vines “select” specific microbes from the surrounding soil to support nutrient uptake,…
Continue to Episode 109: How Vineyard Decisions Impact the Wine Microbiome with Dr. Jack Gilbert
108: Bonus Episode: A Mile‑High Move — The Colorado Chapter
A big life change is brewing as Fritz shares a personal update from his new home base in Denver, Colorado! After nearly two decades in Houston, he and his family have moved to be closer to the mountains, cooler weather, and an outdoor lifestyle, while still staying near a major airport so he can keep…
Continue to Episode 108: Bonus Episode: A Mile‑High Move — The Colorado Chapter
107: Is It Time to Pull the Block – Assessing Decline in Older Vines with Dr Kendra Baumgartner
Fritz welcomes back Dr. Kendra Baumgartner, a longtime friend and one of his very first podcast guests, to tackle a question every grower eventually faces: when does an aging vineyard block cross from struggling to done? Kendra walks through the trunk diseases, root pathogens, and viruses that build up in vines over decades, explaining which…
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