As part of a visit to North America, two of the leaders behind one of Italy’s oldest and largest wineries took a tour Brock’s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI) Tuesday, July 24.

Marchesi Antinori Wines proprietor Marchese Piero Antinori and CEO Renzo Cotarella were joined for the tour by Don Wilson, a broker at Colliers International. The group toured CCOVI’s facilities, met Brock University President Gervan Fearon and Interim Provost and Vice-President Academic, Tom Dunk, as well as CCOVI researchers and students.

Brock President Gervan Fearon thanks Marchese Piero Antinori for his visit while Don Wilson (second from left) and Renzo Cotarella (right) look on.

The Group discussed the challenges of winemaking in both Italy and cool climate regions and ways the industry can plan for the future with mitigation efforts that ease the impact of erratic weather.

“It was a great honour to be able to welcome Piero and Renzo to Brock,” said CCOVI Director Debbie Inglis. “Antinori Wines is a global leader in the industry and it means a lot for our researchers and students to be able to share our work with them in this type of informal setting.”

The Antinori family is one of 11 Primum Famillae Vini (PFV) members, which is an organization made up of highly respected leading European wine families. With more than six centuries in the wine business, the company now operates around the world and is famous for crafting their signature Tignanello and Solaia wines.

The tour also gave Antinori the opportunity to see how the institute he visited in the fall of 1999 after the opening of Inniskillin Hall has evolved into a key resource for both the local and national grape and wine industry.

After a tour of CCOVI, Renzo Cotarella, Marchese Piero Antinori, Belinda Kemp, Debbie Inglis, Tom Dunk, Jim Willwerth, Don Wilson and Sudarsana Poojari pose in the cellar of Inniskillin Hall.