By John Lovett
U of A System Division of Agriculture
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — A former University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture fruit extension specialist was recently confirmed as the new president of the American Society for Enology and Viticulture, an organization that supports grape growers and winemakers.
GRAPE MAN — R. Keith Striegler, outreach specialist for E. & J. Gallo Winery and former extension specialist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, was recently named president of the American Society of Enology and Viticulture. (Photo courtesy National Grape Research Alliance)
R. Keith Striegler, grower outreach specialist at E. & J. Gallo Winery in Modesto, California, succeeded Tom Collins of Washington State University as the 2022-2023 president of the national organization on July 1. Striegler earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in horticultural food science from the University of Arkansas before obtaining his doctorate at Michigan State University.
“Keith has a great understanding of grape and wine production in California and the rest of the nation,” Renee Threlfall, research scientist of enology and viticulture with the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, the research arm of the Division of Agriculture. “Keith is very integrated with the industry, and he has experience in not just research but also teaching, extension and the wine and grape growing industry.”
Striegler served as second and then first vice president of the society before his recent advancement to president. He said next year will mark 50 years since he first began working in the grape growing and winemaking industry. It all began, he said, while still in high school working for Justin Morris, the prominent grape and wine researcher with the Agricultural Experiment Station. Morris, who died in 2014, was widely respected and influential throughout his long career.
“One thing he taught me early on is that there is always a response to a practice in the field which impacts the quality of the product. This is true whether you are working with juice, wine or any other of the many uses of grapes,” Striegler said of Morris.
Sara Spayd, a past president of the American Society for Enology and Viticulture, was also a student of Morris.
“Keith is well prepared for the role of president of the American Society for Enology and Viticulture,” Spayd said. “As graduate students at the U of A under the late Dr. Justin Morris, we attended, participated in and learned the value of our professional societies.”
Spayd noted Striegler’s extensive experience with the national grape producer and winemaker industries from the perspective of not only California but also the South, Midwest. and Eastern U.S.
Raised on a family farm near Fayetteville, Arkansas, Striegler has been a member of the American Society for Enology and Viticulture since 1980. He is also a board member of the National Grape Research Alliance as well as holding memberships in the American Society for Horticultural Sciences, the American Pomological Society, the International Society for Horticultural Science, and the Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology.
Striegler said his favorite aspect of working in the grape industry has been the vast array of products that can be made from the fruit. He said that the wide number of uses, and variety of grapes has kept the work challenging and rewarding.
In addition to wine, there are grapes for eating and adding to fruit cocktail. Grapes are also pressed for juices, dried and eaten, and even the leaves are used for the appetizer dolmas.
John R. Clark, Distinguished Professor of horticulture for the University of Arkansas, pointed to Striegler’s skills and style of communication as a major attribute to his success.
“He is not only knowledgeable, but he can convey information in a warm, easy, understandable manner,” Clark said. “That makes him among the best in his profession across the country. When I hear Keith speak, I almost always think of his advisor and mentor, Dr. Justin Morris, who provided Keith with the inspiration that he carries out in his role in viticulture today.”
Clark calls Striegler “one of our national leaders in viticulture in the United States” because he is not only well-versed in viticulture in California, the largest wine-producing state, but he also knows viticulture “inside and out in our much more challenging environment of the Eastern United States.”
Before joining E. & J. Gallo Winery, Striegler worked as an outreach coordinator for the National Clean Plant Network and in various administrative, research, and extension positions at the University of Arkansas, Fresno State University, University of Missouri, and Missouri State University.
Striegler was an extension fruit specialist for the Division of Agriculture from September 1998 to June 2003. From 2011 to 2014, he was the proprietor of Flint Ridge Winegrowing Services in Fayetteville.
The American Society for Enology and Viticulture was officially formed in 1950 and now has about 2,400 members, 100 industrial affiliates and three chapters including the Eastern U.S. Chapter, the Pacific Northwest Chapter and the Japan Chapter, according to the society’s website.
“We are all about information and education to influence, motivate and mentor the next generation of leadership,” Striegler said of the society. “Membership in the American Society for Enology and Viticulture gets you access to scientific results, and if you’re a student it gets you access to scholarships. We link students to senior members of the society for a free exchange of information.”