The American Society for Enology and Viticulture (ASEV) is honoring two industry leaders for their contributions to grapegrowing and winemaking this June at its 59th Annual Meeting in Portland. This year, ASEV’s Merit Award recipient is Robert Steinhauer of California, and Dr. Peter Winterhalter of Germany will present the Honorary Research Lecturer.

Robert Steinhauer, president and part owner of Wineland Consulting LLC in California, is the recipient of this year’s Merit Award. Steinhauer will be presenting on Thursday, June 19, on his 40-year perspective of the industry and the challenges of the future.

For four decades, Steinhauer has been in the thick of the ebbs and flows of the winegrape industry – from his start at his family’s raisin farm to today as one of the most influential voices shaping the winegrape industry. Steinhauer retired as senior vice president after a 25-year tenure at Beringer Blass Wine Estates and is a past president of ASEV. Steinhauer is the recipient of several prestigious awards, including the 2005 Wine Integrity Award and the 2004 Copia’s Winegrower of the Year and in 2001, he along with his colleague Ed Sbragia, was recognized by the San Francisco Chronicle as Winemaker of the Year.

ASEV will also honor Dr. Peter Winterhalter of the University of Braunschweig, Germany, as the 2008 Honorary Research Lecturer. His lecture, Application of Countercurrent Chromatography in Wine Research and Wine Analysis, will be presented on Wednesday, June 18, 9 a.m.

Dr. Winterhalter is a professor of chemistry and pharmacy at the Institute of Food Chemistry at the Technical University of Braunschweig, Germany. His research team focuses in areas of natural product chemistry and aroma research.

The ASEV Annual Meeting was established in 1950 by a committee of industry and academic representatives that included founding leaders such as Maynard Amerine, James Guymon, Joseph Heitz, Louis P. Martini, Harold Olmo, Andre Tchelistcheff, A.W. Webb and A. J. Winkler. Today, this national event taking place on June 17-20, 2008, serves as the wine and grape industry’s platform for progress, offering a unique combination of continued professional education in regard to scientific rigor and fundamental practice. The diverse and comprehensive program includes seminars addressing topics of daily experience in the winery and vineyard as well as reports and updates on original research and enology and viticulture work in progress. Open to all industry and academic representatives, the annual meeting provides an ideal opportunity for networking between members of all U.S. wine and grape regions as well as respected international experts and professionals.

NOTE TO EDITORS: Photos of the awardees are available upon request.