Enology and viticulture meeting takes place July 9 to 11, includes tour of area wineries

(Wines&Vines) - King of Prussia, Pa.—After meeting last year in Thomas Jefferson’s home town,

Charlottesville, Va., this July the Eastern Section of the American Society for Enology and Viticulture will hold its annual conference just outside of William Penn’s Philadelphia. 

The location in King of Prussia is only a few miles from a hill in what became Philadelphia where Penn planted vinifera grapes in 1683. Penn’s grapes, like Jefferson’s in the next century, succumbed to pests and diseases unknown at that point in the grapes’ native Bordeaux. However, thanks to modern sprays and IPM programs, vineyards and wineries are increasing in number and in quality throughout Pennsylvania. According to Wines Vines Analytics, Pennsylvania currently has 274 wineries, and more than 2,500 acres of vineyards growing wine grapes. 

The 2018 conference will take place at the Crowne Plaza Hotel & Resorts in King of Prussia July 9 to 11 and will include a pre-conference tour of three wineries on Monday, July 9; technical and research sessions all day Tuesday and on Wednesday morning; and a workshop on “Taming High pH in the East” on Wednesday afternoon, July 11.