MEDIA RELEASE: 21 April 2017 – R00083
 
Brock University’s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI) is inviting the media to witness a new and popular course being offered April 24-28 on cider and perry production.
 
The Cider and Perry Production – A Foundation, will be Canada’s only internationally accredited program where industry professionals and enthusiasts can develop their skills at fermenting apples and pears into cider.
 
The Canadian cider industry is booming, and this course — the first of its kind in Canada — sold out within weeks of being announced in February. Registrants are coming from across Ontario as well as British Columbia, New Brunswick and Quebec. There is already a wait list already for a next offering.
 
Cider is increasingly part of the Canadian lifestyle:
•      As Canada’s population ages, older adults, especially women, are consuming less beer and moving to cider and other fruity beverages (source: Mintel, a UK-based market research firm)
•      In Ontario alone, net sales of local craft cider skyrocketed 54 per cent in 2015-16 to $5.1 million (source: Liquor Control Board of Ontario)
 
The Brock program was developed by Peter Mitchell, founder of the Cider and Perry Academy in the UK, and is the basis for The Cider Institute of North America’s program out of Cornell University and Washington State University. The course covers all aspects of production, from the orchard through to quality control and the economics of cider making. The hands-on program uses lectures, lab work, workshops and tastings to give learners a step-by-step guide to production.
 
Journalists can see what the buzz is all about. Sessions open to the media are:
•      Tuesday, April 24, 1-3:45 p.m., Inniskillin Hall Room 306
•      Wednesday, April 25: 1-3:30 p.m., Inniskillin Hall Room 306
 
For more information or for media access to this program, contact:
 
• Maryanne Firth, Writer/Editor, Brock University maryanne.firth@brocku.ca, 905-688-5550 x4420 or 289-241-8288
 
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