Penny has worked in and around the Texas vineyard and winery industry since 1978, with countless prospective and current commercial grape growers and winemakers; she is a ‘pioneer’ of the Texas wine industry.

She completed a B.S. in Horticulture from Texas A&M University (1980) and an M.S. Agriculture-Plant Science with a specialty in Viticulture from California State University-Fresno (1982). She did her master’s thesis at the University of Texas Vineyard in Bakersfield, Texas on Cordon Training of Grapevines in Texas.              
Penny was the first Texas women winemaster as co-owner of Cypress Valley Vineyard and Winery in Blanco County from 1981 to 1986.  She also served as winemaster for St. Lawrence Winery, Itza Natural Wine Company and Hill Country Cellars.
In early 2004 Penny began working for the Pierces Disease Research Program and since 2006 she has worked as Viticulture Advisor for AgriLife Extension-Texas Hill Country serving the needs of both current and prospective wine grape growers. 
               
Penny lives on the family ranch in Gillespie County and has two grown sons.

Dr. Ed Hellman is Professor of Viticulture and Extension Specialist holding joint appointments with Texas AgriLife Extension and Texas Tech University.  Dr. Hellman's Extension activities include leadership of the statewide Viticulture Extension Team, development of the Texas Winegrape Network website, and establishment of the Viticulture Certificate Program.  His research program is headquartered at the AgriLife Research & Extension Center in Lubbock.
Current research includes studies on the physiology of grapevine adaptation to climate, variety and rootstock evaluation, the use of geographic information systems for vineyard site selection, and vineyard management to avoid frost and hail damage.  Dr. Hellman teaches Viticulture II: Grape Production for the Viticulture & Enology Specialization within the Horticulture degree program at Texas Tech University.

Jim Kamas is an Assistant Professor & Extension Fruit Specials in the Department of Horticultural Sciences stationed in Fredericksburg. In addition to responsibilities in treefruit crops and general viticulture, he serves as Outreach Coordinator for the Texas PD Research & Education Program. He collaborates on a number of projects but is especially interested in grape rootstock tolerance to Xylella fastidiosa and in evaluating new scion selections for tolerance to PD and fruit quality. As Outreach coordinator, he has primary responsibility for developing the Texas PD website, organizing the annual PD research symposium and editing a monthly newsletter, Texas PD Notes. He has been active in educational activities on Pierce's disease in several states east of the Rockies.

Sheila McBride graduated from Texas A&M University in 1985 with a bachelor’s of sciencedegree in Microbiology.  After graduating, Sheila began working in the Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology at Texas A&M University as a research assistant in a nematology lab and then a fungal genetics lab.  Most recently, she has taken on the role as the diagnostician at the Texas Plant Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, where she diagnoses plant diseases of all plants, all plant pathogens.  In the Texas Plant Disease Diagnostic Lab, she provides support to researchers, homeowners, private industries such as the nursery industry and growers and the Texas AgriLife Extension service.  She is currently pursuing her Masters of Science in Plant Pathology at Texas A&M University.

Lisa Morano earned a B.S.(1990) from the University of California, Irvine in Biology and a Ph.D. (1995) from the University of Calfiornia, Davis in Ecology within the Department of Viticulture and Enology.  Her thesis work centered on root distribution patterns, root growth and metabolic responses of rootstocks crosses and wild Vitis species.  In 1995 she worked with the Sonoma County Grape Growers Association in Sonoma, California creating a computer database for growers on soil and macroclimate compatibility data for rootstock/ scion combinations in the area.  Since 1995 she has taught biology, microbiology, plant physiology, and cell biology at colleges and universities in California, Michigan and now in Texas. 

Lisa is currently an Associate Professor of Biology and Microbiology at the University of Houston-Downtown where her research interests focus on questions of microbial ecology of grapevine diseases.  For the past years her and her lab students have studied various aspects of detection and genetic diversity of the bacterial pathogen Xylella fastidiosa, the causative agent of Pierce’s disease (PD) in grapevines.  Once a grapevine is inoculated with X. fastidiosa by sharpshooter insects the bacteria multiply inside the xylem (water conducting vessels).  Bacterial growth and the plant response to infection lead to the blockage of the xylem and ultimately plant death for most grape varieties.  PD is of huge financial concern to growers in both Texas and California.  Numerous plants in South Texas serve as symptom-less reservoirs for this bacterium so analysis of all Texas strains of the bacterium may help us unravel the natural history, the ecology and the epidemiology of PD.

Fran Pontasch is the North Texas viticulture advisor to commercial grape producers. Fran supports growers with research based information and recommendations on best vineyard practices. She aims to take vineyards forward as vital members to the Texas wine and grape industry. She received her BS in horticulture from TAMU then began graduate studies with interest in Pierce’s Disease. Fran completed her MS in biology at Sul Ross State University with emphasis in viticulture. For her thesis, Fran investigated potential host plants and leafhopper vectors in relation to the incidence of Pierce’s Disease hot spots. Fran joined Texas AgriLife in 2006.

Dr. Striegler is the Proprietor of Flint Ridge Winegrowing Services in Fayetteville, AR. He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Food Science from the University of Arkansas, and his Ph.D. in Horticulture from Michigan State University. Dr. Striegler's professional experience includes working as a Research Scientist, Interim Director, and Julio R. Gallo Director's Chair at the Viticulture and Enology Research Center, California State University, Fresno; as an Extension Fruit Specialist for the Department of Horticulture, University of Arkansas; as Assistant Director-Viticulture and subsequently Director of the Mid-America Viticulture and Enology Center at Missouri State University; and as the Director and Viticulture Program Leader of the Institute for Continental Climate Viticulture and Enology at the University of Missouri. His research interests include cultivar and rootstock evaluation, vineyard mechanization, sustainable practices, and the influence of cultural practices on grape and wine composition. Dr. Striegler currently serves on the Board of Directors of the National Grape and Wine Initiative (NGWI); as Chair of the NGWI Outreach Committee; and as the National Clean Plant Network for Grapes Tier 2 Vice-Chair. Previously he served as the ASEV-ES Chair and on the Viticulture Consortium-East Regional Guidance Committee.

Dustin Timmons has spent his entire life in the fields and vineyards of the Southern High Plains of Texas in both production and consulting.  After receiving a B.S. degree in Agronomy from Texas Tech University in 1999 he began working as an agronomist with UAP Southwest.  Consulting on multiple crops ranging from cotton and peanuts to chili’s and grapes.
In 2002 he began working for Deleon Peanut company as the head field agronomist consulting on over 10000 acres  of peanuts.  His territory extended throughout the High Plains and into Eastern New Mexico and included all four types of peanuts. 
In 2003 he co-founded Crop Docs Research and Consulting and expanded his work to include working on developing new varieties of guar and researching the profitability of wine grape production on the Texas High Plains.  In 2008 and 2009 he worked with a major peanut company in Mexico to improve the quality and yield of peanuts produced throughout the northern region in Mexico.
Dustin began viticulture consulting in 2006 and planted his own vineyard in 2007.  In 2008 he began to expand his viticulture consulting and vineyard management overseeing the installation of several new vineyards.  Dustin consulted with a number of producers throughout the region on topics such as variety selection , planting, trellising and training.
In 2010 Dusty became the High Plains and West Texas Viticulture Advisor with Texas AgriLife Extension.  In this capacity his duties included all aspects of commercial wine grape production throughout West Texas and the High Plains of Texas.  This region produces the majority of wine grapes for wineries across the state.  

Fritz Westover has been working in the viticulture industry since 1999. He began as a vineyard worker for the Chaddsford Winery in southeastern Pennsylvania, while obtaining his BS in horticulture from Penn State University. Fritz completed his MS in plant pathology in 2003 from the Penn State Department of Plant Pathology while assisting with grapevine-decline research in Pennsylvania and New York vineyards. His research involved various projects concerning biological causes of grapevine decline in replanted vineyards, grape disease management, and the use of compost in vineyards. Fritz has worked internationally as an assistant winemaker for the 2004 harvest at Caiarossa Vineyards and Winery in Pisa, Italy.  From 2005 to 2007, Fritz served as Virginia Tech’s Viticulture Research-Extension Associate at the Alson H. Smith Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Winchester, Virginia.  He is currently working with the Texas AgriLife Extension Service (Texas A&M) as Viticulture Program Specialist.  In addition to his duties as viticulture advisor for the Texas Gulf Coast region, Fritz supervises three Extension Program Specialists as part of a state-wide team effort to provide educational programs and hands-on viticulture workshops for the Texas wine industry.

Dr. Fidelibus is the Associate CE Specialist at the University of California Kearney Agricultural Center. He received is Ph.D. from the University of Florida, Gainesville. Dr. Fidelibus's specialty is Raisin, table and wine grape production, fruit quality, whole-plant physiology, plant growth regulators, and weeds. When asked about his research Dr. Fidelbus responded: " My laboratory conducts applied and basic research on grapes for raisin, table, and wine. Our broad goals are to develop or refine cultural practices that: reduce production cost, improve yields and quality, or all of these. In raisin systems we are most interested in the effects of different canopy managment systems on vine physiology and on raisin drying. In table grapes, our current focus is on the potential use of abscisic acid (ABA) to improve the color of red and black-fruited grapes. We are also interested in refining the use of forchlorfenuron (CPPU) to improve the size and firmness of grapes. Presently, our winegrape work includes long-term evaluations of Barbera and Syrah selections and of newly released generic winegrape cultivars with good potential for grape juice concentrate production. In conjunction with Dr. Anil Shrestha, CSU Fresno, we also study vineyard weed biology and ecology with the goal of identifying sustainable weed control practices."