{"id":42667,"date":"2016-12-15T17:24:45","date_gmt":"2016-12-15T21:24:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=42667"},"modified":"2016-12-16T17:36:52","modified_gmt":"2016-12-16T21:36:52","slug":"canadas-winemakers-get-in-on-secret-fizz-club","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2016\/12\/canadas-winemakers-get-in-on-secret-fizz-club\/","title":{"rendered":"Canada\u2019s winemakers get in on \u2018secret\u2019 Fizz Club"},"content":{"rendered":"

As Canadians decide on beverages to serve during the holidays, a growing number will buy sparkling wines, much of it Canadian made.<\/span><\/p>\n

Consumers are choosing bubbly like never before \u2014 sparkling wine sales in Ontario jumped nearly 12 per cent this year alone.<\/p>\n

Against that backdrop, 40 of Canada\u2019s top sparkling winemakers journeyed to Brock University this week for a clandestine meeting that has come to be known as Fizz Club. No media or sales agents here: This off-the-record gathering is where industry professionals compare notes, discuss production and talk candidly in a closed-door setting with a members-only feel.<\/p>\n

Organized by Brock\u2019s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute and led by Brock scientist Belinda Kemp, the meeting also gives winemakers the opportunity to hear about research developments and openly discuss issues relating to sparkling wine production.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s fourth annual Fizz Club focused on ros\u00e9 sparkling wine, drawing attendees from across Ontario and Quebec, while one British Columbia winemaker sent in wines for feedback.<\/p>\n

Wednesday\u2019s gathering also had a bonus attraction. Bernard Richet, an expert from France\u2019s Institut Oenologique de Champagne, spoke for more than an hour about techniques that European winemakers use to deal with the delicate challenges of holding the colour and fruity flavours in ros\u00e9 sparkling wines.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat he said was incredibly helpful and important, giving people knowledge they can use,\u201d said Kemp, an oenologist whose research specializes in sparkling wines. \u201cPeople told us it was valuable to have an international speaker of this background. One grower said it provided new approaches to consider using in their operation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fizz Club has come into its own at a time when both consumption and production of sparkling wine is rising in Ontario.<\/p>\n

\u201cSparkling wine is not just for celebrations anymore,\u201d said member Emma Garner, winemaker at Thirty Bench in Beamsville, Ont.<\/p>\n

The numbers bear it out. In terms of sparkling wines, sales of imports rose 11.9 per cent last year, while Ontario VQA shot up 10.5 per cent, representing total sales of $4 million.<\/p>\n

\u201cOntario wineries clearly have everything it takes to make great ros\u00e9 and sparkling wines and to craft great brands,\u201d said Astrid Brummer, category manager for Ontario wines at the LCBO. \u201cHowever, the fact that VQA sales represent just 3.5 per cent of overall sparkling sales tells me that there is enormous opportunity for Ontario brands to steal share from the luxury Champagne or super-cool Prosecco segments.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grabbing a larger share of the market is typically what Fizz Club conversations focus on. For Marc Th\u00e9berge, a sparkling winemaker from Quebec, attending Fizz Club gave him an opportunity to hear insight into Ontario trends.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always fun to hear different perspectives,\u201d Th\u00e9berge said. \u201cIt was nice to be able to see production trends in Ontario Ros\u00e9 and the differences between our provinces.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scientists like Kemp also realize a gathering like Fizz Club is something special.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never heard of this type of winemakers-only forum \u2014 where they spend a day focusing on one wine style, sharing ideas and real-time research findings \u2014 happening anywhere else,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Fizz Club also showcases the research of Brock students some\u00a0of Canada\u2019s top winemakers. Both undergrad and graduate students play direct roles in research that benefits Ontario\u2019s wine industry, a hands-on culture that Kemp says helps Brock oenology and viticulture graduates maintain an employment record of more than 90 per cent.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a unique opportunity for undergrads to get training in sparkling wine production and be part of research projects that directly assist the industry and have economic impact.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Forty of Canada\u2019s top sparkling winemakers journeyed to Brock University this week for a clandestine meeting that has come to be known as Fizz Club, an off-the-record gathering where industry professionals compare notes, discuss production and talk candidly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":42668,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3319,1,4,5],"tags":[4761,855,3629],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42667"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42667"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42667\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42671,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42667\/revisions\/42671"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42668"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42667"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42667"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42667"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}