News
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Remembering Paul Pender
It is with great sadness that the CCOVI team learned of the tragic and senseless loss of well-known winemaker Paul Pender of Tawse Winery in Vineland. Paul was deeply involved in the Niagara wine community and was a regular collaborator and participant at many CCOVI education events including FIZZ Club, Experts Tasting and Cuvée. Many of us at CCOVI had the pleasure of working with Paul through the years and will miss his brilliance, sense of humour and easy-going nature.
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CCOVI in The News 2022
September 8, 2022 – The Brock News – CCOVI outreach program helps Niagara grape growers monitor harvest progress
September 1, 2022 – BBC.com – The Arctic Circle: A new frontier for sustainable wine
August 24, 2022 – CBC News: The National – Concerns grow over invasive species after tropical Atlas moth spotted in U.S.
August 18, 2022 – WineAlign – Chardonnay Will Define Us
August 16, 2022 – Wines in Niagara – The full ‘Monty’ on one of Niagara’s most historic vineyards
August 14, 2022 – CBC – An invasive species threatens Ontario’s wine and grape industry. Here’s what you should know
July 29 – The Brock News – CCOVI partners with industry event to highlight Ontario Chardonnay
July 29, 2022 – Vitis BC – Cool climate, hot topics
July 27, 2022 – The Brock News – CCOVI to offer Ontario’s first micro-credentials in winemaking, cider production
July 26, 2022 – The Brock News – CCOVI hosts successful instalment of acclaimed international wine symposium
July 25, 2022 – Wines in Niagara – Digging deep for answers at the Great Chardo Swap in Niagara
July 22, 2022 – Niagara Now – Brock developing virus-free vines for Niagara grape growers
July 21, 2022 – The Lake Report – Brock develops virus-free vines
July 19, 2022 – The Brock News – CCOVI affiliates presenting leading-edge research at International Cool Climate Wine Symposium
July 14, 2022 – The Brock News – CCOVI Director recognized as Canadian wine industry champion
July 12, 2022 – CHML 900 – Vineyards experience worst winter damage in 17 years
July 7, 2022 – The Brock News – Chardonnay celebration to highlight CCOVI’s Great Chardo Swap
June 30, 2022 – Niagara Now – Niagara vineyards suffer serious winter damage
June 30, 2022 – The Lake Report – Vine damage could cut 2022 grape harvest in half: Experts
June 27, 2022 – The Brock News – Brock’s CCOVI set to host 10th International Cool Climate Wine Symposium
June 16, 2022 – The Brock News – Brock Oenology and Viticulture grads venturing coast to coast
June 1, 2022 – The Brock News – New agriculture network to share research, tools with Niagara municipalities
May 2, 2022 – The Brock News – Brock launches national facility for virus-free grapevine plant material
February 9, 2022 – Remembering Paul Pender
February 9, 2022 – The Brock News – Local winery partners with Olympic athletes, Brock co-op students
January 25, 2022 – The Brock News – High marks for Brock on research funding national report
January 25, 2022 – The Brock News – CCOVI’s 15th annual Lecture Series celebrates 25 years of grape and wine research
January 14, 2022 – CHCH – A New Crop: Tim Bolen visits Pillitteri Estates to see how Icewine is made
January 2022 – Surgite – Brock’s CCOVI Raises a Glass to 25-Year MilestoneCategories: In the news -
Holiday closures for Analytical Services & Grapevine Virus Testing labs
To all of our valuable customers:
The CCOVI Analytical Services Lab and Grapevine Virus Testing Services will be closed beginning on Tuesday, Dec. 21 and re-open for service on Monday, January 10, 2022.
The last day to submit samples will be Monday, Dec., 20.
When reopening in 2022, both labs will continue to offer contactless drop-off service in order to safely to process samples for all of our clients.
We look forward to continuing serving you in 2022.
Thank you and Happy Holidays,
– Lisa and Shufen (Analytical Services)
– Tony and Sud (Grapevine Virus Testing Services) -
November & December Dates & Deadlines
WSET LEVEL 1 AWARD IN WINE (ONLINE)
This is a beginner level wine course for those starting a wine career or those wishing to explore wine for personal interest. There is no prerequisite to register and WSET Level 1 in Wine is not a prerequisite for registration in WSET Level 2 in Wine. Please email CCOVI@brocku.ca to confirm your comfort level.
November 29 to December 26, 2021
Registration Deadline:November 19 (by 10 am)*
For more information and to register click here
December 13 to January 9, 2022
Registration Deadline: December 3 (by 10 am)*
For more information and to register click here
December 27 to January 23, 2022
Registration Deadline: December 17 (by 10 am)*
For more information and to register click hereWSET LEVEL 2 AWARD IN WINE (ONLINE)
Explore major grape varieties and important wine regions in which they are grown, the styles of wines produced from these grapes and key classifications and labelling terminology.
November 29 to January 2, 2022
Registration Deadline: November 19 (by 10 am)*
For more information and to register click hereDecember 13 to January 16, 2022
Registration Deadline: December 3 (by 10 am)
For more information and to register click here
December 27 to January 30, 2022
Registration Deadline:December 17 (by 10 am)
For more information and to register click hereWSET LEVEL 1 AWARD IN SPIRITS (ONLINE)
This is a beginner level course for those starting a career in the spirits industry or those wishing to explore spirits for personal interest. There is no prerequisite to register and WSET Level 1 in Spirits is not a prerequisite for registration in WSET Level 2 in Spirits. Please email CCOVI@brocku.ca to confirm your comfort level.
Monday January 10 to February 6, 2022
Registration Deadline:December 17, 2021 (by 10 am)
For more information and to register click hereWSET LEVEL 2 AWARD IN SPIRITS (ONLINE)
This is a specialized program for individuals wishing to develop their expertise in spirits and liqueurs. You’ll learn about the production methods and characteristics of the main spirit categories while also exploring key brands and the use of spirits in cocktails.
November 29 to January 2, 2022
Registration Deadline:November 19 (by 10 am)
For more information and to register click hereCIDER AND PERRY PRODUCTION- FOUNDATION (ONLINE)
CINA instructors have collaborated to develop a first-of-its-kind online Foundation course to boost your cider production career or hobby.
Fermentation experts from Brock University, Cornell University, Washington State University, and Virginia Tech will introduce you to the fundamentals of cider making as well as the history and traditions behind the modern cider and perry industry. World-renowned cider makers will lead live discussion about the application of production knowledge to a career in the cider industry. Cider samples and fermentation kits will be sent to all participants for sensory analysis and product development throughout the course.
August 31 – December 14 (online)
For more information and to register click hereREMOTE INVIGILATION EXAMS:
WSET LEVEL 1 AWARD IN WINE (ONLINE):
Monday December 13 from 5:30 -6:15 pm – 45 minutes
Registration Deadline: November 19 (by 1 pm)
Register hereMonday December 20 from 5:30-6:15 pm – 45 minutes
Registration Deadline: November 16 (by 1 pm)
Register hereWSET LEVEL 2 AWARD IN WINE (ONLINE):
Monday December 13 from 5:30 – 6:15 pm – 45 minutes)
Registration Deadline: November 19 (by 1 pm)
Register hereMonday December 20 from 5:30-6:15 pm – 45 minutes
Registration Deadline: November 16 (by 1 pm)
Register hereWSET LEVEL 1 AWARD IN SPIRITS (ONLINE):
Monday December 13 from 5:30-6:15 pm – 45 minutes
Registration Deadline: November 19 (by 1 pm)
Register hereMonday December 20 from 5:30-6:15 pm – 45 minutes
Registration Deadline: November 16 (by 1 pm)
Register hereWSET LEVEL 2 AWARD IN SPIRITS (ONLINE):
Monday December 13 from 5:30- 6:15 pm – 45 minutes
Registration Deadline: November 19 (by 1 pm)
Register hereMonday December 20 from 5:30-6:15 pm – 45 minutes
Registration Deadline: November 16 (by 1 pm)
Register here -
Brock’s CCOVI celebrates 25 years of research excellence
Karl Kaiser and Donald Ziraldo at the opening of Brock’s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute, in the new Inniskillin Hall building, in 1999.
Although harvest season is always a special time in Niagara, this vintage also marks a major milestone for Brock University’s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI).
The Institute turned 25 last month, commemorating a quarter-century since its inception on Oct. 26, 1996.
“While things have changed a great deal over the past 25 years, our commitment to our industry and community partners has remained at the heart of what we do at CCOVI,” Director Debbie Inglis said. “It has been amazing to see everything we have accomplished together.”
The time for popping sparkling wine and gathering in celebration will come in 2022, as soon as it is safe to do so in true CCOVI style. For now, the CCOVI team is reflecting on its two and a half decades of achievements.
The idea for CCOVI began at the Queen’s Landing Forum in Toronto, where 37 individuals from Brock University and the grape and wine community determined that the industry needed its own cool climate grape and wine research institute.
In this Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI) file photo, Jim Willwerth is seen collecting samples of grapevines for CCOVI’s VineAlert program.
A short time later, CCOVI was born, in partnership with the Wine Council of Ontario (now known as the Ontario Craft Wineries and Wine Growers Ontario) and the Grape Growers of Ontario (GGO).
The Institute has since become internationally recognized for its leading-edge research and its continuing education, outreach and professional development opportunities. It is still supported by its inaugural partners today and has inked new partnerships with Ontario Grape and Wine Research Inc. (OGWRI) and the Canadian Grapevine Certification Network (CGCN), among others.
A year after CCOVI was created, Brock’s Oenology and Viticulture program welcomed its first cohort of undergraduate grape and wine students. Hundreds of graduate and undergraduate students have been trained by the CCOVI team since.
In 1999, Donald Ziraldo and John Howard led a $2.1-million fundraising campaign from members of the national grape and wine industry, allowing CCOVI to open the doors to its very own building: Inniskillin Hall.
Del Rollo, Chair of The Board Of Directors, Wine Growers Ontario, said all the Institute has achieved over the past 25 years “has been, and will continue to be, fundamental to the success of Ontario’s grape and wine industry.”
“Wine Growers Ontario thanks CCOVI for its dedication to our industry that supports more than 18,000 jobs in Ontario,” he added.
Tim Kenyon, Brock’s Vice-President, Research, congratulated “the entire CCOVI team” for the tangible impact its research program has had over the last two and a half decades.
“CCOVI has earned its excellent reputation by supporting scientific and scholarly inquiry in genuine collaboration with industry, community and government partners,” he added.
Ziraldo, who is still a close partner of the institute today, points to the flagship VineAlert program as an example of the game-changing research coming out of CCOVI. The program alerts growers to plummeting temperatures so they can turn on their wind machines to help protect their vines from winter damage.
“Before CCOVI created this, you had to essentially go out and hold a thermometer up in the air,” Ziraldo recalled. “I remember driving around at night to check the temperature of different vineyards, it was just crazy. Now you can set it up so that the wind machine comes on automatically to align with Brock’s data.”
CCOVI Director Debbie Inglis, centre, is pictured speaking with Karl Kaiser and Donald Ziraldo at the 10th anniversary celebration of Brock’s Oenology and Viticulture program in 2010.
OGWRI Chair Matthias Oppenlaender and GGO CEO Debbie Zimmerman also raised a glass to the impact CCOVI has had on “Ontario’s 500 grape growing farm families.”
“CCOVI’s ongoing research and support of Ontario’s grape growers is crucial in improving grapevine health, including mitigating winter injury,” they said in a joint statement on behalf of the GGO, OGWRI and CGCN. “The successful development of VineAlert is a major accomplishment for CCOVI and an important tool for protecting our vineyards to ensure the local grape and wine industry remains strong and sustainable.”
CCOVI’s robust research program tackles industry research priorities from the vine to the glass, as well as providing Preharvest Monitoring, Analytical Services and Grapevine Virus Testing. It also hosts thousands of community and industry members at its outreach events every year and provides professional certifications in wine, cider and spirits to more than 200 continuing education students annually.
Ontario Craft Wineries President Richard Linley said the organization has been “proud to partner” with CCOVI, highlighting their collaboration on the first-of-its-kind Certification in Ontario Wine.
“We look forward to further building on our partnership with CCOVI as our industry and this valuable institution continues to grow,” he added.
As for what lies ahead, Inglis is excited by CCOVI’s work to better understand consumer choice using augmented and virtual reality technology in the Institute’s R3CL Lab, its initiatives to support the sustainability of the industry and mitigate the impacts of climate change, and the implementation of a national clean plant program for grapevines.
All of which, she stresses, are possible thanks to CCOVI’s strong partnerships.
Brock University Interim President Lynn Wells echoes the sentiment.
“CCOVI’s numerous research, outreach and continuing education activities over the past 25 years have created meaningful and lasting partnerships within our local community and beyond,” she said. “We look forward to seeing what the next 25 years will bring.”
Categories: What's happening at CCOVI -
New Outreach Brief Available: Tips For Managing Sour Rot in the Winery
Sour rot is a recurring problem in early season thin-skinned, tight-clustered grape varieties, such as Pinot noir, Pinot gris, Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Gamay and Baco noir, and has been responsible for more than $1.5 million in crop loss in a given season in the Ontario region, when weather conditions promote infection.
CCOVI has assembled an Outreach Brief: Tips For Managing Sour Rot in the Winery, to help the industry addresses the challenges associated with sour rot, such as helping winemakers minimize the negative impacts of sour rot on wine quality and decrease a loss of income from reduced yield.
This brief was created with support from Ontario Grape and Wine Research Inc. and the Canadian Grapevine Certification Network(CGCN-RCCV), as part of the Grape and Wine Science research cluster.
Categories: What's happening at CCOVI -
Brock University toasts gift of 2,500 historically significant wines
23 September 2021
R0096
Brock University — Marketing and Communications
Renowned wine expert Michael Vaughan has selected Brock University’s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI) as the new home of his impeccably preserved collection of award-winning Canadian wines.
The Michael Vaughan Wine Collection contains 2,500 bottles of historical wines from across the country, including a number of extremely rare bottles that date back decades. The collection has been personally curated and preserved by Vaughan and contains some of the last-remaining bottles of their kind that are still in mint condition and drinkable.
Vaughan, who earned his PhD in International Economics from the University of Toronto, was a Professor of Economics at Ryerson University before becoming an award-winning national wine writer and critic. He said his collection was curated with intellectual pursuits in mind. As an educator himself, Vaughan said he felt CCOVI’s state-of-the-art facilities and reputation for research and educational excellence made it an ideal partner for both housing and utilizing his unique collection.
“I wanted to make sure the wines I have accumulated went somewhere where they could be a useful learning experience,” he said. “I wanted to share them with an academic institution. The most important one for me was Brock, because it made sense that it went to a place where the students, the faculty and the winemakers could experience the evolution of these wines and see how good they still were and how they had changed over all of these years.”
Brock University has become a trusted steward for unique, historically significant collections, including the Alexander Hamilton collection that was donated to the Brock Library’s Archives and Special Collections last year.
Debbie Inglis, Director of Brock’s CCOVI, said the Michael Vaughan Wine Collection is a prime example of how gifts of this kind and ongoing partnerships with donors can serve students, researchers and the community for years to come.
“This generous donation, coupled with Michael’s expertise, will be a valuable asset to the Institute as we work to address the evolving research and outreach needs of our industry and educate future generations of grape growers and winemakers,” she said. “This collection serves as a living history of the evolution of Canadian wine, allowing us to learn from the past and bolster the sustainability and success of our industry in the future.”
The collection will be housed in CCOVI’s 44,000-bottle capacity wine cellar, where the wines will be climate-controlled, archived and preserved as part of the Institute’s Canadian Wine Library.
“This donation contains wines from some of Canada’s top wine vintages, including 1998 and 1999, and to have these coming through our doors is very exciting,” said Barb Tatarnic, CCOVI’s Manager of Continuing Education and Outreach. “It opens up a treasure trove of opportunities for CCOVI to take a deep dive into these wines and to offer tastings and research opportunities that look at things like ageability, the impact that good vineyard practices have on the quality of wines, climate, weather impacts on vintage variation and much, much more.”
Vaughan has been studying, collecting and writing about wine for more than 50 years, documenting the 1970s resurgence of the Canadian wine industry first-hand. He is the editor and creator of Vintage Assessments, a not-for-profit publication dedicated to professional buyers, sommeliers and wine lovers, and has personally tasted and critiqued tens of thousands of the world’s top wines.
The value of the collection he is gifting to Brock lies in the health of the wines themselves, which he preserved in a climate- and humidity-controlled environment and routinely evaluated for quality using a time-honoured technique to preserve their integrity.
“I keep my wine very cold because I don’t want it to evolve, so my secret of having wines that are still drinkable after 50 years is the temperature,” Vaughan said. “The wines that have been donated to CCOVI had never moved out of my climate-controlled storage.”
Vaughan will continue to offer his breadth of expertise and collaborate with CCOVI on various outreach, research and educational opportunities involving the presentation of these wines going forward.
“This is the fun part,” he said. “I really want to continue working with Brock, including on some interesting projects I have in mind.”
CCOVI, which is poised to celebrate its 25th anniversary in October, is developing plans for hosting these opportunities, as well as an event to celebrate the donation, in the near future.
CCOVI Director Debbie Inglis and wine expert Michael Vaughan are available for media interviews.
Included media:
- Video — A video package can be found and embedded from YouTube here. B-roll and a non-branded version are available upon request .
- MichaelVaughan.jpg — Toronto-based wine expert Michael Vaughan has donated his collection of rare, award-winning Canadian wines to Brock University’s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute.
- DebbieInglis.jpg — Debbie Inglis, Director of Brock University’s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute, is pictured adding some of the wines in the Michael Vaughan Wine Collection to the Institute’s cellar.
- VaughanInfographic1.jpg — By the Numbers of CCOVI and Michael Vaughan Wine Collection.
- VaughanInfographic2.jpg — Highlights of the Michael Vaughan Wine Collection being donated to Brock’s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute.
For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:
* Dan Dakin, Manager Communications and Media Relations, Brock University ddakin@brocku.ca or 905-347-1970
* Sarah Ackles, Marketing and Communications Officer, Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute, Brock University sackles@brocku.ca, 289-783-5478
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Categories: Media releases -
Brock University toasts gift of 2,500 historically significant wines
Toronto-based wine expert Michael Vaughan has donated his collection of rare, award-winning Canadian wines to Brock University’s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI).
Renowned wine expert Michael Vaughan has selected Brock University’s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI) as the new home of his impeccably preserved collection of award-winning Canadian wines.
The Michael Vaughan Wine Collection contains 2,500 bottles of historical wines from across the country, including a number of extremely rare bottles that date back decades. The collection has been personally curated and preserved by Vaughan and contains some of the last-remaining bottles of their kind that are still in mint condition and drinkable.
Vaughan, who earned his PhD in International Economics from the University of Toronto, was a Professor of Economics at Ryerson University before becoming an award-winning national wine writer and critic. He said his collection was curated with intellectual pursuits in mind. As an educator himself, Vaughan said he felt CCOVI’s state-of-the-art facilities and reputation for research and educational excellence made it an ideal partner for both housing and utilizing his unique collection.
“I wanted to make sure the wines I have accumulated went somewhere where they could be a useful learning experience,” he said. “I wanted to share them with an academic institution. The most important one for me was Brock, because it made sense that it went to a place where the students, the faculty and the winemakers could experience the evolution of these wines and see how good they still were and how they had changed over all of these years.”
Brock University has become a trusted steward for unique, historically significant collections, including the Alexander Hamilton collection that was donated to the Brock Library’s Archives and Special Collections last year.
CCOVI Debbie Inglis is pictured adding some of the wines in the Michael Vaughan Wine Collection to the Institute’s cellar.
Debbie Inglis, Director of Brock’s CCOVI, said the Michael Vaughan Wine Collection is a prime example of how gifts of this kind and ongoing partnerships with donors can serve students, researchers and the community for years to come.
“This generous donation, coupled with Michael’s expertise, will be a valuable asset to the Institute as we work to address the evolving research and outreach needs of our industry and educate future generations of grape growers and winemakers,” she said. “This collection serves as a living history of the evolution of Canadian wine, allowing us to learn from the past and bolster the sustainability and success of our industry in the future.”
The collection will be housed in CCOVI’s 44,000-bottle capacity wine cellar, where the wines will be climate-controlled, archived and preserved as part of the Institute’s Canadian Wine Library.
“This donation contains wines from some of Canada’s top wine vintages, including 1998 and 1999, and to have these coming through our doors is very exciting,” said Barb Tatarnic, CCOVI’s Manager of Continuing Education and Outreach. “It opens up a treasure trove of opportunities for CCOVI to take a deep dive into these wines and to offer tastings and research opportunities that look at things like ageability, the impact that good vineyard practices have on the quality of wines, climate, weather impacts on vintage variation and much, much more.”Vaughan has been studying, collecting and writing about wine for more than 50 years, documenting the 1970s resurgence of the Canadian wine industry first-hand. He is the Publisher/Editor of Vintage Assessments, a not-for-profit publication dedicated to professional buyers, sommeliers and wine lovers, and has personally tasted and critiqued tens of thousands of the world’s top wines.
The value of the collection he is gifting to Brock lies in the health of the wines themselves, which he preserved in a climate- and humidity-controlled environment and routinely evaluated for quality using a time-honoured technique to preserve their integrity.
“I keep my wine very cold because I don’t want it to evolve, so my secret of having wines that are still drinkable after 50 years is the temperature,” Vaughan said. “The wines that have been donated to CCOVI had never moved out of my climate-controlled storage.”
Vaughan will continue to offer his breadth of expertise and collaborate with CCOVI on various outreach, research and educational opportunities involving the presentation of these wines going forward.
“This is the fun part,” he said. “I really want to continue working with Brock, including on some interesting projects I have in mind.”
CCOVI, which is poised to celebrate its 25th anniversary in October, is developing plans for hosting these opportunities, as well as an event to celebrate the donation, in the near future.
Categories: What's happening at CCOVI
