The annual CCOVI lecture series begins Feb. 3. Last year, Maxim Voronov (seen here) was one of the presenters.

What a difference a year makes.

Last winter, oenologist Belinda Kemp was sitting in her home in England, watching live webcasts of Brock University’s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute’s (CCOVI) Lecture Series.

“The CCOVI webcasts were a great resource for me,” Kemp said. “In fact they’re a great resource for the wine industry and wine researchers anywhere in the world.”

This year she’s a researcher at Brock and will be one of the presenters in the 2014 edition of the renowned lecture series.

Kemp, the latest addition to the CCOVI team, will take the podium on March 17 to speak about her research on managing tannins during wine production.

Again this year, the nine-week series takes timely research out of the lab and into the hands of industry.

“Having the series online has allowed CCOVI to expand our outreach activities from our own backyard to a truly global audience,” said CCOVI director Debbie Inglis.

Now in the seventh season, the series doesn’t end with the final lecture. The online videos have been viewed more than 2,000 times in more than 35 countries around the world.

Topics for this year’s series span the grape and wine value chain from consumer behaviour, marketing, and wine law to oenology and viticulture science.

All lectures take place Monday afternoons at 2 p.m. in room H313 of the Mackenzie Chown complex at Brock University and are free for anyone to attend.

To watch the live webcasts or archived videos, go to brocku.ca/ccovi.

Parking is available in Lot E at a rate of $2.50 per hour.

Lineup and dates for the 2014 CCOVI Lecture Series:

• Feb. 3: Narongsak Thongpapanl, CCOVI Fellow, chair, Marketing, International Business and Strategy, Brock University
“Unveiling the influence of consumer wine appreciation dimension on purchasing behaviour”

• Feb. 10: Alexandra Mayeski, CCOVI Professional Affiliate, partner at Mayeski Mathers LLP
“Current legal issues facing the Ontario wine industry”

• Feb. 24: Linda Bramble, CCOVI Professional Affiliate, wine writer, educator and author
“The influence of wine writers on consumer behaviour”

• March 3: Michael Ripmeester, CCOVI Fellow, Professor of Geography, Brock University
“Wine as heritage across Niagara”

• March 10: Jim Willwerth, CCOVI viticulturist, Brock University
“Cold hardiness: current issues and research developments”

• March 17: Belinda Kemp, CCOVI oenologist, Brock University
“Tannin Alert: A wine tannin management system for Niagara wineries”

• March 31: Antonia Mantonakis, CCOVI Fellow, Associate Professor of Marketing, Brock University
“Consumer perceptions: The influence of subtle label changes on consumer behaviour”

• April 7: Gary Pickering, CCOVI Researcher, Professor of Biological Sciences, Brock University
“SNPs, snobs and snouts: The influence of biology, expertise and taste in wine preference segmentation of North American consumers”