The central theme is fruit development in relationship to the physiological, environmental and cultural factors that directly and indirectly affect quantity and quality. Areas of Research Emphasis are: Growth and development, especially of carbon balance and fruit set and growth; Stress physiology - environmental (light, water, temp) and foliar pest stress; Physiological effects of cultural practices (pruning, training, irrigation, canopy management) on productivity and fruit/wine quality attributes; Documentation and management of spatial variability, especially utilizing new microsensor, GIS and remote sensing technologies; Integration of genetic, environmental, and cultural factors with dynamic crop modeling.

In the Viticulture classes I have and am teaching, I strive to help the students understand in depth the principles of vine physiology, management and environment that underpin the behavior and success of viticulture. Every field and every year are unique. This requires a depth of understanding to optimally manage. This is especially the case for premium wine grapes. The goal is to teach critical thinking and the ability to synthesize a substantial database of knowledge in the most appropriate way based on the situation to arrive at unique and effective solutions. I also use quite a few guest lectures from world’s experts and visits to commercial growers to enrich the fundamentals taught and put them in the context of grape production.