As an industry-driven research institute, CCOVI is committed to ensuring that research findings and best practices are shared with interested stakeholders locally, nationally and around the world.
To learn about our research and outreach activities, visit the areas of our website highlighted below:
Research translation tools
CCOVI’s Preharvest Monitoring tracks the maturity of grapes across the Niagara Peninsula from veraison to harvest, measuring key ripeness indicators. The program’s data is presented on an interactive website that allows users to compare sites and vintages. Click here to view the preharvest monitoring program’s website.
TanninAlert is an online tannin-monitoring portal providing customized data retrieval and tracking tools that facilitate best tannin management practices and informed decision-making throughout the winemaking process.
The program measures skin and seed tannin separately in red grape varieties. The skin and seed tannin measurements are then compared to CCOVI’s database of measurements (dating from 2015 to present) and subsequently categorized as low, medium or high to assist with winemaking decisions.
Visit TanninAlert
VineAlert tracks grapevine cold hardiness over the dormant season from October to April. VineAlert data can help growers determine when proactive actions such as the use of wind machines are warranted to protect grapevines. When cold events occur, the program sends alerts to over 500 registered users. View the VineAlert website here.
Lectures
CCOVI’s annual lecture series provides the opportunity for the industry to hear directly from researchers the latest findings and developments in their field. The lectures are livestreamed for viewers outside of Niagara and are video archived on YouTube.
Learn more.
As part of our mission of providing timely information to the grape and wine industry, we host experts on current topics relevant to the industry.
Research communication
One of the ways our researchers communicate their research to stakeholders is through our research briefs. These communication pieces allow stakeholders to understand research findings quickly and learn how they are relevant to their operation.
The CCOVI News is a quarterly publication updating stakeholders on current research findings and CCOVI events.
Workshops and events
In 2013, Brock University hosted the Academy of Wine Business Research’s annual conference. The event brought together international experts in wine business to discuss recent findings and trends with each other and the local industry. More details are available here.
Each year, CCOVI helps to develop educational sessions for the International Cool Climate Chardonnay Celebration’s (i4C) School of Cool. These sessions address current issues in Chardonnay production. More information on this event can be found here.
CCOVI has created a network of sparkling winemakers in Ontario called Fizz Club. The group meets to discuss the latest developments in sparkling wine research and share knowledge and experiences.
To address an industry need for a more technical understanding of sparkling wine production, CCOVI recently organized the first Ontario Sparkling Wine Technical Symposium. The symposium brought together international experts and winemakers from across North America to discuss sparkling wine production issues.
Hosted every other year, the Riesling Experience showcases the quality of Ontario’s VQA Riesling wine. The conference brings in international experts to discuss current topics in Riesling production. Details on the event can be found here.
The Triggs Lecture showcases world leaders in the production of premium vitis vinifera grapes. CCOVI presents the lecture series every other year in both Ontario and British Columbia.
In 2022, Brock’s CCOVI welcomed delegates from the across the globe to the 10th instalment of the International Cool Climate Wine Symposium (ICCWS). This marked the first time the prestigious conference, which takes place in a cool climate wine region every four years, was held in Canada. The wide range of programming at the ICCWS examined how adversity drives innovation to achieve success across the entire value chain of the grape and wine industry. For additional details, please visit iccws2022.ca.
