On January 29, 2013, the nation's largest wine and grape conference begins here locally in Sacramento. It's the 2013 Unified Wine and Grape Symposium starting its two day meeting at the Sacramento Convention Center, 1400 J Street, downtown Sacramento.
The wine industry will showcase its science, technology, and industry developments as experts speak and discuss their latest products and technologies. More than 12,000 people are expected to attend as activities begin at 9:00 a.m. The conferences runs from Tuesday January 29, 2013 through Thursday January 31, 2013. Check out the conference's website for further information. See, Registration and Housing - Unified Wine & Grape Symposium Home. There's a video on the registration site.
Starting today, Monday, January 28, you may register on-site at the Sacramento Convention Center, 1400 J St, Sacramento, CA 95814 in addition to the online the options. On-site Registration is located on the third floor level. Refer to the Daily Schedule for registration hours. Check out the site, on-site registration hours. There's also a phone number listed on the registration site.
The fee for student members of ASEV is a whopping $250, up from last week's fee for students that was only $50 to register if you registered before January 22, 2013. There's even a fee of $60 just to look at the exhibits. The conference also has a Spanish language session. Non-members pay a whopping $689 to attend the two-day conference.
And ASEV members pay $499 to register at this late date. This conference is definitely beyond the budget of low income retirees looking for a daytime event to attend to pass the hours and learn about the health benefits of grapes (or wine). But if you're into this industry or a student, check it out.
Health benefits: How resveratrol from grapes reduces stroke risk
Then again, you can learn the health benefits of grapes for free online. See the article, Grapes nutrition facts and health benefits. For example, according to that article, grapes are rich in polyphenolic phytochemical compound resveratrol which is an anti-oxidant found to play a protective role against cancers of colon and prostate, coronary heart disease (CHD), degenerative nerve disease, Alzheimer's disease and viral/ fungal infections.
Resveratrol changes the molecular mechanisms in the blood vessels by reducing susceptibility of blood vessel damage through decreased activity of angiotensin. What angiotensin is refers to a systemic hormone that causes blood vessel constriction that would otherwise elevate blood pressure. Instead, reveratrol, which comes from grapes and similar fruits, increases the production of the vasodilator substance, nitric oxide (a beneficial compound that causes relaxation of blood vessels).
You have in resveratrol and grapes antioxidants known as anthocyanins which are another class of polyphenolic antioxidants found in red grapes. These phytochemicals have been found to have an anti-allergic, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, as well as anti-cancer activity. But think of how many grapes you'd have to eat to get enough resveratrol. That's why some people take a small amount of resveratrol as a supplement.
Grapes have catechins
It's the flavonoid tannin group of antioxidants called catechins found in white and green grapes as compared to the resveratrol found in red grapes that also have somewhat of a protective function when it comes to health. Grapes and other berries don't have cholesterol and in moderate amounts are low in calories. You have the micronutrients in the fresh fruit such as minerals.
Your body uses the copper, iron, and manganese in grapes and berries. Copper and manganese are an essential co-factor of antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase. Grapes that are dehydrated contain iron. And raisins are dried grapes, which have more concentrated iron in them.
You also have some potassium, about 191 mg of potassium in raisins that you need to balance your electrolytes. Grapes also have some vitamins such as vitamin C, A, K, and B (riboflavin, pyridoxine, and thiamin) as well as some of the carotenes.
You may not get a lot of nutritional information about the micronutrients in grapes at a wine convention, but you can find out whether you want to work in this industry if you're not already in it, particularly making use of your organic chemistry or food science college courses. You can even earn a degree in winemaking at U.C. Davis.
You can earn degrees in brewing beer and winemaking for sustainability at U.C. Davis
As part of a food-processing complex on campus that also contains a new sustainable winery and brewery along with its food complex, U.C. Davis focuses on being greener and using a more holistic approach to sustainability of the entire campus. Also check out the latest January 28, 2011 UC Davis news release of what's brewing in Sacramento that may affect your health in whatever way you responsibly choose. The good news, it's sustainable. And that's a healthy trend for Sacramento and Davis.
See, UC Davis toasts new sustainable winery, brewery and foods complex. How does that sound to you--in the Sacramento-Davis regional area, a first rate university now toasts its new brewery? According to today's news release from UC Davis, hundreds of friends, supporters and alumni joined the new brewery, winery, and foods complex at the University of California, Davis. Today the university officially opened the doors to the world’s most environmentally sophisticated facility for making wine, brewing beer and processing foods. How many said, "I'll drink to that?"
The new, 34,000-square-foot teaching and research complex, located within UC Davis’ Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science, was financed entirely by private philanthropy — no state or federal funds were used. The campus received more than $20 million in private support to construct and equip the complex, according to the news release.
Fermentation for winemaking and beer brewing is now wireless in Sacramento
And the University of California, Davis is now known as one of the greenest, most holistic, and highest in sustainability university in the USA--that offers doctorates, undergraduate degrees, and certificates in brewing beer and winemaking--with sustainability.
“We are so very proud of this state-of-the-art teaching and research complex,” said UC Davis Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi, according to the U.C. Davis 2011 news release story, UC Davis toasts new sustainable winery, brewery and foods complex. “It is a crown jewel for UC Davis. And it is proof of our enduring commitment to food, wine, beer and agriculture, overall — here in our region and globally.
“This facility really embodies everything that UC Davis stands for today. And at the same time, it is a symbol of where we are headed,” Katehi said, according to the news release. “We want to be a driver of innovation — and a partner in economic development — to improve our economy and quality of life. We want to be stewards of our natural resources and a model of sustainability. This facility really does it all and will do it all for many years to come.”
Neal Van Alfen, dean of the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, said in the news story: "This research complex is a landmark for UC Davis and the wine, brewing and food industries in California. It will allow us to conduct cutting-edge research and train the next generation of food-industry leaders."
Van Alfen also announced that, among the commitments from private donors, $3 million was recently pledged to UC Davis by Jess Jackson and Barbara R. Banke of Jackson Family Wines to construct the Jess S. Jackson Sustainable Winery Building, according to the UC Davis news release. That building, planned for completion in 2013, will house the technology needed to maximize the environmental capabilities of the adjacent new winery, brewery and food-processing complex.
Sustainable winery building captures, filters, and re-uses rainwater
For example, the sustainable winery building will enable the teaching and research winery to demonstrate how a winery can operate on rainwater when it captures, filters and reuses that water many times. The planned building also will house equipment needed to sequester the carbon dioxide captured from the winery’s fermentation system, thus preventing damage to the atmosphere. This is expected to make it the first winery to have a net-zero carbon footprint, meaning that it captures and sequesters at least as much carbon dioxide as it produces.
Other speakers during the grand opening ceremony were U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Napa); Jerry Lohr of J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines; Doug Muhleman, an alumnus and trustee of the UC Davis Foundation; James Seiber, chair of the UC Davis Department of Food Science and Technology; and Andrew Waterhouse, chair of the UC Davis Department of Viticulture and Enology. Also present for the event were Margrit Mondavi, representatives from Anheuser-Busch InBev, and leaders from the California wine and processing-tomato industries.
What Healthy Trends Follow the New Complex?
The new one-story complex is constructed in two adjoining wings and is adjacent to a new 12-acre teaching and research vineyard. The south wing of the complex is home to the August A. Busch III Brewing and Food Science Laboratory, which includes the Anheuser-Busch InBev Brewery; the California Processing Tomato Industry Pilot Plant for processing a variety of foods; and the Milk Processing Laboratory. The complex’s north wing houses the new Department of Viticulture and Enology Teaching and Research Winery. That's a lot of brew on campus and another healthy trend?
Construction was completed in July 2011, and wine-grape crush and brewing began there in September. Equipment installation was recently completed in the food-processing pilot plant, and equipment is expected to be installed in the milk-processing laboratory in February.
In December, the U.S. Green Building Council awarded LEED Platinum certification to the complex, which is the second UC Davis building to complete the certification process. It joins the LEED Platinum UC Davis Tahoe Center for Environmental Sciences, completed in 2006 in Incline Village, Nev.
UC Santa Barbara’s Bren Hall is the only other LEED Platinum-certified building on any of the 10 University of California campuses. Another healthy trend is the LEED environmental design of the new complex. Don't forget it's also a food processing complex and not only for brewing beer or wine. It's environmental friendly.
LEED Platinum environmental design
The new winery, brewery and food-processing complex was designed to serve as a test bed for production processes and techniques that conserve water, energy and other vital resources. Its environmentally friendly features include onsite solar power generation and a large-capacity system for capturing rainwater and conserving processing water. The stored rainwater will be used for landscaping and toilets, per LEED specifications.
The planned Jess S. Jackson Sustainable Winery Building will provide an automated system to clean barrels, tanks and fermentors. The system will make it possible to reuse 90 percent of the captured rainwater, serving as a demonstration of how businesses with limited water can become self-sufficient. Plans call for the UC Davis winery, brewery and food-processing facility to eventually operate independent of the main campus water supply.
The new winery also has been designed to capture carbon dioxide, a natural byproduct of fermentation, from a port in each of the new fermentors. An innovative process will be used to remove the carbon dioxide from the winery, reducing the building’s energy requirements for air quality and temperature control. The new sustainable winery building will make it possible to sequester the captured carbon dioxide so that it will not contribute to global warming, according to the UC Davis news release.
Other environmentally responsible features include maximum use of natural light, rooftop photovoltaic cells to provide all of the facility’s power at peak load, new food-processing equipment that minimizes energy and water requirements, use of recycled glass in the flooring, interior paneling recycled from a 1928 wooden aqueduct, and use of lumber harvested from sustainably certified forest operations.
High-tech processing systems: a wireless wine-fermentation system
The facility also includes what is believed to be the world’s first wireless wine-fermentation system, a multimillion dollar assembly of 152 wireless grape fermentors, designed, fabricated and donated by a team of research engineers led by T.J. Rodgers, the founder, president and chief executive officer of San Jose, Calif.-based Cypress Semiconductor.
Each of the 200-liter, electro-polished, stainless steel fermentors is individually equipped for automated control of temperature and the “pump-over” process, controlling two of the most important factors in determining final wine characteristics and quality.
The new fermentor sensors frequently and precisely extract and transmit sugar-concentration data from white and red fermentations across a wireless network. Data from the sensors can be generated every 15 minutes with a precision of 0.25 Brix, a measure of sugar content.
Just completed, it is one of the largest wireless networks in any fermentation facility in the world. Additionally, the new brewery will provide a showcase for the latest in brewing technology, as well as a sophisticated laboratory for conducting research and training students in the science of brewing. It also is intended to provide commercial brewers and suppliers with a small-scale facility in which they can test new recipes or processes.
Would you like to become a brew master and study the technique at UC Davis?
People who are in training to become brew masters often visit the area to study techniques, for example, at UC Davis. If you're interested in learning to be a beer brew master, check out the thorough and successful training program offered at UC Davis Extended Studies Program (Extension program offerings). See the site, Master Brewers Program - UC Davis Extension.
Yes, you can earn your bachelors degree in Fermentation Science from UC Davis. Or you can take training courses without matriculating for a college degree by taking the courses in becoming a brew master through UC Davis's Extension program of courses leading to a certificate. Check out the Master Brewers Program - - UC Davis Extension.
If a degree is in your future or graduate work, UC Davis offers degrees in Brewing Science. UC Davis' program is only one of three in the world and the only program to date in the nation. You might even become a professor of Brewing Science one day, with enough graduate degrees, if that's what you aspire to become. But you'd better get on UC Davis's waiting list.
Want to earn a doctorate (Ph.D) in brewing beer (Brewing Science)?
There usually are more students who want a degree in Brewing Science than there are openings in the academic program. The next best is to take the Extended Studies program. You'll learn specific techniques. You can earn a bachelor's degree or even your PhD and maybe become a professor of brewing beer and/or wine. Check out the program, PhD Degree Requirements — UC Davis Food Science & Technology.
Sacramento/Davis area is geographically where it's at in the nation as far as training to brew the best beer and related types of fermented beverages. Nutritionists would like to see more non-alcoholic beers that might be of interest to senior citizens that have problems absorbing vitamin B from supplements.
Who's the instructor at the UC Davis programs in brewing? See the article, "Brewing Basics: Going Beyond the Kit - UC Davis Extension."
What Can You Learn at UC Davis Extension Programs in Micro Brewing or Wine Making?
According to the program description's website, the courses will teach you to master the basics of brewing all malt beer from UC Davis' longtime home brewers. See, smell and taste the raw materials that go into making a fine bottle of beer and gain the confidence to go beyond the extract home brewing kit stage.
Learn about several beer styles, the essentials of sanitation and the intricacies of each step in traditional malt brewing. Participate in hands-on brewing with state-of-the-art home brewing equipment and discuss alternative methods of packaging your homebrew. Discover mashing and boiling as you gain knowledge of brewing yeasts and spoilage microorganisms. Note: You must be 21 years of age or older to enroll and attend.
About the UC Davis Department of Viticulture and Enology: Winemaking
Established at UC Berkeley in 1880 by California legislative mandate, what is now the UC Davis Department of Viticulture and Enology has been at the forefront of international grape and wine innovation for 130 years. The department partners with the California grape and wine industry through research, public service and equipping students with both scientific knowledge and practical skills.
The department includes 14 faculty members and enrolls 100 undergraduate students and 40 graduate students. More information about the department and the new winery is available online.Check out the UC Davis site, wineserver.
About the Department of Food Science and Technology
The Department of Food Science and Technology represents one of the oldest disciplines at UC Davis, evolving from studies in winemaking and dairy food production at UC Berkeley in the early 1900s. The current department is home to 200 undergraduate students and approximately 50 graduate students, according to the UC Davis news release. The majority of the graduates from this program are now working in the food industry or related industries in California and elsewhere.
The department has 25 faculty members who are involved in international collaborations in 20 nations throughout the world. Its historical strengths are in engineering, chemistry and biochemistry, microbiology, food safety, and sensory and consumer sciences.
It is developing new areas of specialty focused on foods for health; food and culture; the relationship between foodborne diseases and the environment; and the processing of food products at the microscopic level, using techniques known as microencapsulation and nanoencapsulation.
Comments