A $2-million funding boost from the Ontario Research Fund (ORF) will support a multi-institutional project led by Brock University that aims to drive resilience in the province’s grape and wine industry.

The project, “Viticulture Innovation and Next-generation Oenology (VINO) Solutions: Strengthening Ontario’s Grape and Wine Sector for Climate Resilience, Innovation Excellence and Global Economic Leadership,” will develop new growing and fermenting approaches to help the industry combat threats such as pests, plant viruses and climate change.

“Our proactive, integrative approach of building resiliency into both grape and wine production systems by combining academic expertise and industrial partnerships across the country, will ensure the Ontario grape and wine sector continues to be a leader in cool climate wine production,” says Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI) Director and Professor of Biological Sciences Debbie Inglis, Principal Investigator for VINO Solutions.

The project also builds on earlier funding from the federal government’s Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership. When combined with cash and in-kind support from industry partners and Brock, the VINO Solutions project now totals $7.4 million.

“Brock University’s project is a breakthrough for Ontario’s $5.5-billion grape and wine industry,” says Sam Oosterhoff, Member of Provincial Parliament for Niagara West. “It gives grape growers access to clean plant material, a robust pest management strategy and methods to expand the selection of world-class wines they produce.”

Brock Acting Vice-President, Research Michelle McGinn says the funding “confirms Brock University’s exceptional partnerships with the grape and wine industry to create innovations that advance sustainable agriculture to the next level, boosting Niagara’s economy and protecting our shared future.”

The project aims to commercialize tools to create:

• disease-free grapevine material for nurseries for further propagation
• testing services for grapevine and yeast identification
• new commercial products for controlling vineyard insect pests
• unique Ontario yeasts to overcome climate-change driven fermentation challenges
• knowledge translation programs
• licensing of new grapevine propagation techniques
• new wine styles

VINO Solutions consists of 11 subprojects under the categories Start Clean, Enhance Resilience, Stay Clean and Stay Competitive. Researchers will use state-of-the-art equipment and facilities at Brock’s Research Farm, which recently received funding from the federal and Ontario governments.

One of the sub-projects in the multi-institutional project VINO Solutions will identify pheromones to disrupt the mating patterns of insect vectors of viruses.

Start Clean will develop cutting-edge techniques, such as microshoot tip tissue culture therapy, green tissue culture grafting and high throughput sequencing, to produce healthy, virus-free vines while ensuring their genetic identity for the Canadian grapevine clean plant program.

Enhance Resilience will assess the suitability of new varieties for the Ontario climate, including their cold tolerance and disease resistance, along with new vine treatments to improve grapevine cold hardiness.

Stay Clean will develop artificial intelligence methods to detect grapevine viruses in vines and identify pheromones to disrupt the mating patterns of insect vectors of virus. These activities are part of an integrated pest management program to prevent infection and control spread of virus disease.

Stay Competitive will focus on wine quality and flavour research to support the global competitiveness of Ontario wine. The researchers will isolate, identify and characterize unique yeast that can overcome fruit breakdown issues in grapes, enhance wine aroma and reduce alcohol content. They will also assess wine quality from new disease resistant varieties and assess their use in low-alcohol wines.

The research teams include:

• Emily Aubie, Professor of Beverage and Alcohol Sciences at Niagara College (Stay Competitive)
• Charles Després, Professor of Biological Sciences (Enhance Resilience)
• Gerhard Gries, Professor of Biological Sciences at Simon Fraser University (Stay Clean)
• Debbie Inglis, CCOVI Director and Professor of Biological Sciences (Stay Competitive)
• Jennifer Kelly, CCOVI Scientist (Enhance Resilience and Stay Competitive)
• Yifeng Li, Associate Professor of Computer Science and Canada Research Chair in Machine Learning for Biomedical Data Science at Brock University (Stay Clean)
• Ping Liang, Professor of Biological Sciences (Start Clean and Stay Competitive)
• Dave Liscombe, Research Scientist, Vineland Research and Innovation Centre (Enhance Resilience)
• Sudarsana Poojari, CCOVI Principal Scientist (Start Clean and Stay Clean)
• Malkie Spodek, CCOVI Scientist (Stay Clean)
• George van der Merwe, Associate Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Guelph (Stay Competitive)
• Jim Willwerth, CCOVI researcher and Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences (Enhance Resilience and Stay Competitive)

Additional research partners include Niagara College, University of Guelph, Vineland Research and Innovation Centre, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Ontario Grape and Wine Research Inc., Canadian Grapevine Certification Network, Seeger Vineyards, Schenck Farms and Greenhouses, Illumina, Upper Canada Growers, Cave Springs Vineyard, ABAzyne BioSciences, Synergy Semiochemical Corportation and Stouck Vineyards.

The VINO Solutions project was among more than 200 initiatives receiving Ontario Research Fund support, announced Nov. 22 by Minister of Colleges and Universities Nolan Quinn.

“When we invest in research, we invest in our province’s future,” said Nolan Quinn. “These critical investments will ensure Ontario’s researchers can continue making discoveries that drive key sectors, create good-paying jobs, and improve the lives of all Ontarians.”