A blotch on the landscape.

Just a quick post.  It's Monday night and I'm tired.
The Oakville Winegrowers held a meeting, late this afternoon, at TWWIAGE.  On the agenda was a presentation by Dr. James Stamp on Grapevine Red Blotch-associated Virus.  Commonly referred to simply as Red Blotch, this is a fairly new grapevine virus (unexplained disease symptoms were first categorised in 2007, in Oakville) that may have dire economic ramifications for commercial growers and wineries.  And to be quite honest, nobody really knows much of anything about this virus.  For example, it is thought that possible vectors of the disease are leafhoppers, or whiteflies, but the research is ongoing.
The photograph shows a sampling of the handiwork of some of the participating wineries.  Yes, the meeting had a rather serious tone, but that didn't stop the attendees from tasting the goods.  It was quite a who's who of Oakville.  I just hope that none of these vineyards are infected with Red Blotch already.  Yikes.
I'll be attending a seminar on Red Blotch later in the month, so hopefully I'll learn a little bit more about this disease.  Stay tuned.