Latvia 2006 - Preliminary Program

A preliminary program can be seen here!

The organizers expect the conference to be a mix of these types of presentations:

• Targeted, in-depth presentations on specific topics by experts. Some of the anticipated topics are:
  • cultural practices to advance fruit maturity
  • disease and pest control
  • breeding strategies for northern grapes
• Country or region reports that provide a comprehensive introduction to the practices and unique aspects of viticulture and winemaking in about 18 northern areas from around the globe.
• Panel discussions on:
  • grape breeding and variety suitability and availability
  • areas for productive future cooperation
• Formal and informal (social) wine tastings to explore the diversity of this important product from northern grapes
• Meal sessions designed to promote small group discussions

The formal sessions of the conference will run 9-10 November, and include the meals.

There will be an informal pre-conference dinner and registration on the evening of Wednesday, 8 November.

An optional post-conference tour of the Kandava region of Latvia is planned for Saturday, 11 November. This tour will visit the historic Sabile Wine Hill (Vina Kalns), visit Kaspars & Ieva Sunini newly established vineyard near Sabile and finally will have an included dinner and wine at the scenic manor house of Mr. Benjamin near Kandava. The Kandava-Sabile is about 100 km from Riga and we plan to leave hotel at 9.00, have a short excursion to Riga city and then go to Kandava-Sabile. This tour will take a full whole day and will arrive back in Riga at a late hour. The bus back to Riga-Jurmala will wait for us. Thus if you want to participate, you should book an extra Saturday/Sunday night in the hotel and go back home on Sunday. The cost of the tour is approximately $65.

Formal presentations at the conference will be given in English, Russian or Latvian. Simultaneous interpretation will be provided for most of the content.

This conference will draw heavily on the experience of the enthusiastic attendees to make the meaningful presentations. The organizing committee has identified a large number of speakers. Any potential attendee may also contact the organizing committee to make additional suggestions for speakers at: info@northernviticulture.org.