Prior to the winter of 2025, Leanne Molchan’s social media savviness consisted of six posts to her four-year-old Instagram account.
“I am not naturally a social media person,” says the Co-Owner/Marketing Manager of the new Swayne Creek Ciderhouse on Vancouver Island.
It’s a fact, she says, that didn’t jive with the needs of her new business.
“I understand the importance of a presence on social media, especially for a startup, and I was bumbling.”
At 42 years old, the only thing to do was to learn a new skill. She found that opportunity with the Cool Climate Oenology & Viticulture Institute’s (CCOVI) Practical Social Media Marketing Strategies for Wineries and Cideries course.
“I saw this course through a Cider Canada newsletter, and I jumped on it.”
What she found was a fun and comprehensive roadmap to social media success that was delivered in easily digestible once-weekly online classes. Instructor, Britt Dixon is a former TV news reporter and owner of Britt Dixon Creative.
“Britt is brilliant,” says Molchan.
“She was really kind with me and just told me that ‘you’ll get there.’ But then she would also give me the answers that I was looking for because I needed help on basic things like what are the differences between a reel and a post and a story?”
Molchan says she looked forward to the class each week and the marketing strategy she produced for the class’s final project now serves as her cidery’s social media strategy.
For more information on CCOVI’s social media programming visit: https://tinyurl.com/yra7rxxk
Relating her professional desires to the adage of “when in Rome,” Holly Eaton, who is newly transplanted to the Niagara region, figured she could complement her Bachelor of Science degree by learning more about the area’s famous wine industry. To achieve that goal, she completed the online course Certification in Ontario Wines — offered by Brock University’s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI).
The course is perfect for people already in the industry, those wanting to get into the industry, or for others simply looking to learn more. Eaton is employed at Marynissen Estates winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake as a cellar hand while continuing her studies.
“My big thing was, I didn’t want to do another four-year program,” says Eaton. “I saw that Brock had this amazing certification program and I went right into it.” Eaton describes the course as easy to access, fun, and, most of all, effective.
“I went into this program with very little knowledge of Ontario wines. Now I feel like when I’m talking with people, I can understand what they’re talking about as opposed to before I would kind of just nod my head.”
“It has helped me already,” she adds. “And I think it’s going to further help me with my future career path.”
Certification in Ontario Wines is a five-week online course with approximately four hours of study per week. The course has no fixed study times so that students may plan their studies to suit your own schedule.
After 15 years at Brock University in Facilities Management and Custodial Services, Christine Alič is retiring to a life on a fruit winery in New Brunswick.
“I always knew one day that I would retire and then go work at my aunt’s winery,” says the 57-year-old.
What she didn’t know was how to make wine.
Enter Brock’s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI), which has been offering professional and continuing studies for more than 25 years.
Alič registered for CCOVI’s online Foundations in Winemaking course and after 10 weeks of instruction and winemaking at home, she’s ready to be her aunt’s right hand.
“It was great,” she says. “Steven Trussler is a great instructor. He’s engaging and explains things so easily. We would try something, and then it might not work when you test it, but then in the next lesson Steven would tell you how to fix that. There was no pressure.”
That is to be expected at CCOVI. The institute is the Canadian authority in skills-based professional and continuing studies for the grape, wine, cider, and spirits industries. CCOVI makes sure learners are armed with all the winemaking tools they need to succeed in the course.
“Everything we needed to complete the course was included in the registration cost,” says Alič. “I went out and got the juice and did the fermentation at home. At the end of the course, we brought our samples, dropped them off at CCOVI, and got our results.”
Kevin Brohman has a thing for notes, and thanks to Professional and Continuing Studies at CCOVI he can share that passion across two professions.
As a university-trained classical musician,he has an ear that can pick up subtle changes in sound. As a wine consultant with Cave Spring Vineyard in Jordan, Ont., he spends his days talking about the subtle notes of citrus and oak in a finely crafted bottle of VQA wine.
He learned the latter skills, and more, after completing WSET Level 2 Award in Wines in-person and is now enrolled in the WSET Level 3 Award in Wines at CCOVI.
“It’s so much more apparent to me now how wines are made, the importance of different climates and temperatures,” he says.
“To be able to speak to customers on why certain varieties are different year to year, or where certain wines come from and why wines taste different is so helpful to my job.”
WSET programming is open to anyone already working in the industry, new to the industry, or those who simply want to become more of a wine aficionado for no reason other than “just because”.
The instructors are industry professionals with years of experience.
“It was phenomenal,” Brohman says of his time in class throughout his WSET journey with CCOVI. “The instructors have different perspectives and backgrounds and experiences. They are very knowledgeable and personable.”
WSET Level 2 is a nine-week in-class experience with 2-hour evening classes offered every April and September. For those looking for an online learning experience, WSET Level 2 can also be completed virtually.
