Growing Forward Virtual Conference Closes Its 2026 Season with a Forward Look at El Niño and the 2027 Winegrowing Year

Final session of the year broadcasts November 18 — registration opens today — as a record-strength El Niño takes shape and growers seek to apply the hard lessons of 2026’s disruptive growing season

Registration has opened for the 3rd edition of the 2026 Growing Forward series, a virtual Vineyard & Grower-focused conference series tackling the most pressing topics and issues faced throughout the grape growing cycle. The third and final session of the 2026 series, “Preparing for 2027: Winegrowing in the Year of El Nino,” will be broadcast on November 18, 2026, at 10:00am.

The session arrives at a moment of unusual urgency for the industry. The 2026 growing season challenged North Coast winegrowers with early heat accumulation, accelerated vine development, poor fruitfulness, shatter and lower yields in many vineyards. Now, with El Niño conditions developing as growers look toward 2027, those experiences may offer valuable insight into the season ahead.

Growing Forward will bring together experts in weather, vine physiology and vineyard management to look back at what drove the 2026 season – and, more importantly, what growers can take from it as they prepare for the next one.

The discussion will explore the connections between early-season temperatures and vine development, fruitfulness and fruit set, along with the conditions growers should be watching this winter and spring. We’ll also look at how those signals could factor into vineyard decisions, including pruning and early-season monitoring.

Registration is free and the session will broadcast on Wednesday, November 18 at 10:00am (PT).

For more details and to register visit: wineindustryadvisor.com/growingforward.