2024 Annual Fruit Wine Award
Each year, the AWSEF awards the Best Fruit Wine in the AWS amateur wine competition the "Les Sperling Fruit Wine Award". We're pleased to present the 2024 award to Tim Traxler of Bellefonte, Pennsylvania for his 2022 Red Raspberry wine.
Congratulations, David!
Welcome to the AWSEF Board, Ron Natalie, AWS Vice-President
Per the by-laws of the AWSEF, the current President of the American Wine Society, or his delegate, is a member of our Board of Trustees. We're very pleased to welcome Ron Natalie, the AWS Vice President, to our Board. From the entire Board of Trustees, WELCOME, Ron! We look forward to your working with you and your contributions to our Board!
We're very fortunate to also have Eric Feldhake, incoming AWS President, continue on our Board as our General Counsel. We've greatly benefited from his advice over the years he's been a Trustee with us. Many thanks, Eric! (Jan. 2025)
We're planning for the 2025 Silent Auction to be held at the AWS Conference
in Chantilly, Virginia
We need donations of wines and wine-related items to make the Silent Auction a success.
That means, we need you, our members, to (once again) be generous with donations!
Click here for the Silent Auction donation form!
2025 Scholarship Recipients
We had a record number of applicants for our 2025 scholarship period, representing students from 11 different universities across North America.
With this year’s awards, the AWSEF has provided more than $576,000 in scholarships to 185 students at 25 different universities across the United States and Canada since 1995.
Congratulations to...
Brandt Bastow
PhD candidate at the University of California–Davis
Scholarship in Memory of Thomas King (Anonymous Donor)
Developing rapid, affordable methods to detect smoke taint using fluorescence spectroscopy and chemometric modeling, empowering growers with timely harvest decisions during wildfire events.
Arpa Boghozian
PhD candidate at the University of California–Davis
AWS Chapter of Cleveland, Ohio Scholarship
Investigating the impact of Grapevine Red Blotch Virus on fruit development to support new enzyme-based vineyard practices that preserve quality and reduce grower losses.
Michael Cook
PhD candidate at Texas A&M University
W. J. Rachele Endowment Scholarship
Studying irrigation strategies across Texas wine regions to improve grapevine resilience, wine stability, and berry composition in the face of climate extremes.
Hannah Frank
PhD candidate at Cornell University
AWS Chapter of Meadowlands, NJ Scholarship
Modeling beneficial soil fungi (arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF)) to give growers a predictive tool for soil health and cost-effective decisions about inoculants.
Isidora Silva-Valderrama
PhD candidate at the University of British Columbia
Banfi Vintners Scholarship
Predicting the virulence of grapevine trunk disease pathogens and developing tools to reduce their impact and safeguard vineyard longevity.
Jesse Stevens
MSc candidate at Washington State University
AWS Chapter of North Alabama Scholarship
Optimizing UVC light as an eco-friendly treatment for powdery mildew and refining sulfur application guidelines to minimize phytotoxicity risks.
Douglas Vines
MSc candidate at the University of Minnesota
Virginia Wydler Scholarship
Advancing cold-hardy grapevine breeding by uncovering genetic traits related to winter survival and late bud break in cold climates.
Nikolas Wilson
PhD candidate at the University of British Columbia
AWS Special Scholarship
Testing mitigation strategies for heat-stressed grapevines, including irrigation and canopy sprays, and comparing heat tolerance across key grape varieties.