The Napa Valley Grapegrowers held their annual spring press conference this week, predicting a good vintage. Grapegrowers are optimists - They're in agriculture.

The conference was held April 25 at Round Pond Estate, Rutherford, CA. 

To watch the press conference, visit: 2012 NVG Spring Press Conference.

A recap from the Grapegrowers called attention to these highlights:

· Bud break was later than last year; now experiencing fast, uniform growth
· Harvest expected earlier than the past two year
· Rain totals to date: 25-inches, which is the normal; 45-inches at the same time 2011
· 2012 is a post-La Niña weather phenomenon year, bringing normal temperatures and precipitation
· Largest replanting in 20 years happening all over the valley
· Valley-wide efforts result in zero detections of European Grapevine Moth to date; 100,000 trapped in 2010, 116 trapped in 2011; none trapped to date for 2012
· $150,000 raised at annual 2011 STOMP event to support Farmworker Education Foundation
· More than 350 farmworkers and supervisors have attended workshops in the first quarter of 2012 in vineyard safety, forklift operations, English as a second language, leadership skills and
· High quality demand leads to year-round vineyard operations in the Napa Valley, resulting in full-time employment for the Valley’s farmworkers and further integration into the Napa Valley community
· Increased vineyard technology: 11 new weather stations at Stagecoach Vineyards enables temperature monitoring for farmworker safety; strategic water management; pest and disease cycles and ideal fertilizer application timing. Twenty-one total weather stations. Many sustainable farming practices employed in Napa, from installation of owl boxes to control gophers; blue jay boxes and predatory mites to control insects; mulch ground covers to eliminate herbicide use and increase soil retention; and myriad other practices witnessed on site
· The official Napa Valley Video History Project is underway to document the story of Napa Valley’s legendary grapegrowers and groundbreaking advances in winegrape growing
· 2012 Harvest STOMP, NVG annual fundraiser, is August 25 at Trefethen Family Vineyards
· Re-designed NVG website is a bigger, better resource for grapegrowers and fans of the Napa Valley· Increased land values and strong visitation numbers tell a story of economic sustainability and viability in Napa