Justin Baldwin, owner of Justin Vineyards and Winery and Stasi Seay, grower representative for Diageo Chateau and Estate Wines, have been added to the list of speakers for the Central Coast VINE Symposium set for March 23-24 in Paso Robles, Calif.

Western Farm Press is symposium co-sponsor.

Baldwin and Seay will participate in a panel discussion entitled “What wineries want from growers.” The topic is designed to give growers an opportunity to hear directly from the wineries what they can do to produce the fruit quality the winery wants. The discussion will be moderated by meeting host, Lowell Zelinski.

“Wineries and winemakers are the growers’ customers,” Zelinski said. “Whether you are producing 1 ton an acre or 10, it’s important for a grower to know what their customer wants. We developed this topic because we believe that wineries can be a valuable resource for a grower when it comes to developing cultural practices.”

Viticulturist Neil Roberts, owner of Roberts Vineyard Services has also joined the VINE speaker roster. He will talk about the pros and cons of mechanical harvesting. Roberts is one of the first viticulturists in the Paso Robles area to use the new Pellenc 4560 Selectiv’ Process On Board harvester. He’s going to tell the audience about his experience in working with the new machinery, take a look at its costs and benefits, and talk about how it compare to other harvesting methods.

VINE is the first and only viticulture production meeting of its kind held on the Central Coast. The goal of the meeting is to provide Central Coast wine grape growers, consultants and vineyard managers with practical production information to help them improve yields and quality, decrease production costs and stay abreast of new technology and techniques. Organizers say the new meeting is being well received and that space is filling up.

Registration is still open. For more information, call (805) 434-3331 or visit www.precisionaginc.com/VINE.