The American Vineyard Foundation, an organization whose mission is to raise funds that address grape and wine industry research priorities, has named Jim Frisinger, long-time member of the AVF board of directors, as chairman for the 2010 term.

Jim Frisinger believes that the American Vineyard Foundation is one of the keys to the future of the wine business in the US. “What we’ve done over the past fifteen years,” he notes, “has been the difference between night and day, success and failure. And as we move forward against an increasingly international competitive market, our research, and the incremental improvements we have made, will be a vital advantage to us all.”

After graduating from Iowa State University with a Bachelors Degree in horticulture, Jim first visited California in 1973 to look at the University of California, Davis and visit Napa Valley, where he met Myron Nightingale, the winemaker at Beringer Vineyards. It would be another seven years before he returned to Napa – but the seed was planted.

Jim went on to receive a Masters Degree in viticulture and enology at UC Davis. He continued his post graduate work there as a staff researcher and teaching assistant for several years.

In April of 1980, Jim joined the Vineyard team at Beringer, which then farmed approximately 1,800 acres of vineyard land. In 2003, Jim was promoted to Vice President of North Coast Vineyard Operations. He oversaw almost 4,000 acres of vineyards on the North Coast, handling all strategic development and viticulture operations, from planting, pruning, and cultivating through to harvest.

Jim is involved with numerous organizations, including the American Society of Enologists and Viticulturists, the Napa Valley Vineyard Technical Group and the Napa County Winegrape Pest and Disease Board. He is a graduate of the California Agriculture Leadership program and has been on the board of the American Vineyard Foundation for over ten years, five of them on the executive committee.