(Wines&Vines) - California grapegrowers aren’t the only group to have problems finding vineyard workers. When Nate Walsh, owner of Walsh Family Wine in Round Hill, Va., and president of the Virginia Vineyards Association, introduced the first speakers at the association’s winter technical meeting Feb. 23-24, he stated, “Unemployment in Virginia is lower than the national average, and the problem is going to get worse. Agriculture is labor intensive, and we need well-trained workers.” 

The panel addressing the approximately 300 growers and winemakers in the audience presented some differing responses to the issue. Cynthia Webb, a representative of the Virginia Employment Commission who receives H-2A applications, noted that “there are not a lot of workers looking for agricultural work