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IGGVA Annual Conference

The perfect blend of wine lovers, growers, vintners and experts.

Sponsored by: American Family Insurance

Thursday, February 25 to
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Crowne Plaza Hotel
3000 South Dirksen Parkway
Springfield, IL 62703

CONFERENCE INFORMATION

You’re invited to an exquisite pairing of enology authorities and wine-centric events. It all begins Thursday, February 25, 2010, with a pre-conference enology workshop featuring wine experts Ellie Butz and Michael Jones presenting information on the art of fining and the use of additives in wine-making. Following that will be various lectures and presentations, tastings, a tradeshow, auction and much more! It all caps off with the IGGVA Annual Banquet and Auction which will feature four courses of culinary delights, each paired with award-winning Illinois wines.

Come raise a glass with us by registering now! Deadlines for registration are as follows:

Hotel Reservations – Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Conference Registration – Thursday, February 11, 2010

A block of rooms are reserved at a rate of $99 plus tax. Call the Crowne Plaza Hotel to reserve your room at (800) 589-2769. The Group Code is GRA, which you should use when registering.

PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOP

Addition and Subtraction in the Winery: Additives and Fining Agents

Thursday, February 25 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Ellie Butz, Lallemand, Vintage Winery Consultants will provide instruction on wine fining agents and techniques. Ellie explains that “fining agents are compounds which pass thru the wine, removing some undesirable wine component (astringency, off flavors, hazes, heat or cold instability, etc.) without leaving any residue. They can also remove some desirable characters if used improperly or excessively. The winemaker’s art is most apparent when he can utilize the many fining agents available to tweak his product to perfection.”

Michael Jones, Scott Laboratories, California will discuss the use of tannins and inactivated yeast. He explains that “under certain climatic conditions, grape cultivars, especially hybrid varieties, tend to lack phenolic structure (tannin) and body. Tools, in the forms of enological tannins and inactivated yeast, are now available to compensate for the shortcomings of nature. This seminar is designed to show the potential of these compounds and add them to the tools a winemaker might draw upon to extract the maximum quality and individuality from the raw materials used in a wide variety of winemaking situations.”

This separately-ticketed, pre-conference double feature covers:

  • Wine issues requiring fining
  • Wine fining procedures
  • Fining materials
  • Fining trials
  • Government regulations
  • Sources of materials
  • Tannins - phenolic polymers vs monomers
  • Sources of tannins
  • Effects of tannins
  • Use of inactivated yeasts

Registration for the Pre-Conference Workshop is included in the Conference Brochure.

Please contact Megan Pressnall, Director of External Relations at (217) 782-6515 or mpressnall@extension.uiuc.edu with any questions regarding the Illinois Grape Growers and Vintners Association’s 2010 Annual Conference.