Dec 12, 2007
The KGO TV newscast in San Francisco ran a story yesterday about a virus that seems to be causing vineyard decline in syrah vines. The reporter spoke to Rhonda Smith, the UCCE viticulture farm advisor in Sonoma County. She said the problem isn't as serious in Sonoma County as it is in France because there are only about 1,800 acres of syrah being grown in the county, about 10 percent of the state's total.
According to the story posted on the TV station's Web site, Smith said she's advising the syrah vineyard owners to uproot their vines and replant.
"We're taking it on a case-by-case basis" she is quoted as saying.
The story also appears on Earthtimes.org, which quotes Smith from a story it said appeared on San Francisco radio station KCBS.