Wine writer and CCOVI instructor Christopher Waters (photo courtesy of Barb Tatarnic)
Wine writer and CCOVI instructor Christopher Waters (photo courtesy of Barb Tatarnic)
A wine writer and longtime Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI) instructor who teaches wine appreciation courses at Brock University has been presented with the RBC Business Citizen of the Year award.
Christopher Waters received the award for his exceptional service to Canada’s wine industry, especially in Niagara.
“It’s an incredible honour to be singled out by the Niagara grape and wine community,” says Waters. “Especially since it was the local winemakers and grape growers who were my inspiration for starting out as a wine writer.”
The RBC Ontario Awards event, which is part of the kick off to the annual Niagara Wine Festival, honours business citizens chosen from a list of candidates presented by members of Ontario’s grape and wine industry.
“Chris has been an incredible supporter and cheerleader of Niagara’s growing wine industry for more than 10 years,” says Debbie Inglis, director, CCOVI. “He is a valued member of our CCOVI team and we are so proud of all his accomplishments.”
Waters is co-founder and editor of Vines, a national consumer magazine aimed at Canadians who buy, drink and enjoy wine and are passionate about the subject. For the past 13 years, he has worked as a professional wine writer and educator.
His wine column, “Waters & Wine,” is syndicated through Sun Media Corporation, Canada’s largest newspaper publisher. It appears weekly in such papers as the Toronto Sun, Calgary Sun and London Free Press, as well as community papers throughout Ontario, including the Kingston Whig-Standard, Niagara Falls Review and St. Catharines Standard – where it originated in 2000.
In addition, Waters is head judge of the InterVin International Wine Awards and on staff at Brock’s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute, where he develops and teaches wine appreciation courses and instructs programs for the UK-based Wine Spirits Education Trust.
He received the VQA Promoters’ Award for education in March 2011.
