(Wines&Vines) - Nitrogen will take center stage come June, when the American Society for Enology and Viticulture (ASEV) convenes its annual conference with the second International Symposium on Nitrogen in Grapes and Wine.

Drs. Amanda Stewart of Virginia Tech and Christian Butzke from Purdue University developed this year’s theme, which will revisit the subject of nitrogen in depth for the first time in 24 years.

According to Butzke, the symposium was designed as a way to get winemakers up to speed on the very latest science-based practical strategies and:  

• Better manage vine nitrogen in the vineyard,

• Balance vine nutrition approaches in the vineyard and winery,

• Understand how yeast assimilable nitrogen relates to fermentation dynamics and flavor compounds,

• Hear how YAN can be influenced by both the juice/must matrix and the pre-fermentative processing decisions,

• Achieve worry-free post-fermentation stability in the cellar,

• Increase flavor complexity beyond fruit and oak,

• Optimize the ageability of your wines.

ASEV president Lise Asimont, the director of grower relations for Francis Ford Coppola Winery, tells Wines & Vines, “There was a great need for this, since 1991 was the last time we discussed (nitrogen) as a group.” Asimont says ASEV is gearing the June 16 event—and its national conference in general—to be more applicable to the members of the wine industry. She adds that many industry professionals are “using old information without a review of what we’re doing, so there is going to be some controversy” about the research presented at the symposium.

Asimont says speakers will discuss the use of nitrogen as part of vineyard nutrient management and winemaking practices. Speakers at the symposium will include members of academia and vineyard and winery specialists from all over the United States as well as Canada, France, Australia and Japan.