Articles from:January 2026

• Olympic partnership boosts Canada’s wine brand: Brock expert

  Thursday, January 29, 2026 | By Brock University

  EXPERT ADVISORY — January 29, 2026 — R0011

  A Niagara winery’s connection to the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games is shining a spotlight on Canada’s world-class wine industry, says Professor of Marketing and Consumer Psychology Antonia Mantonakis.

  “There are moments in history where New World producers like Canada have the opportunity to showcase their wine to a global audience,” says Mantonakis, a fellow at Brock University’s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI). “This is one of those moments.”

  Niagara-on-the-Lake’s Pillitteri Estates Winery was recently named as the Official Wine Supplier of Team Canada for the second time.  

  Mantonakis says the winery’s exclusive partnership with Team Canada in Italy — a historic, Old World wine country — provides an opportunity to boost perceptions of Canadian wines at home and abroad.

  She likens the knock-on gains as similar to when Karl Kaiser and Donald Ziraldo won accolades for the Canadian wine they brought to France’s Vinexpo in 1991.

  That win for Canadian wine not only impressed the international grape and wine community, she says, but also created a culture of pride among Canadian consumers, especially those from Niagara.

  “The glory of being recognized at such a high level and the exposure that comes with it creates pride and a feeling of ownership, similar to how fans feel when a hometown athlete wins big at the Olympics,” says Mantonakis. “In consumer psychology, we have this term called ‘basking in the reflected glory.’” 

  She believes that Pillitteri’s status as Canada’s wine at the Olympics will positively impact Canadians’ views of both the brand and Canadian wines in general.

  “Absolutely you will see a boost in brand recognition for both Pillitteri and the Canadian wine industry as a whole because people will associate the greatness of the Olympics with this brand,” she says. 

  Pillitteri first signed on as the official supplier of wine to Team Canada in 2019 and extended the partnership with the Canadian Olympic Committee in March 2025 for six years.

  The partnership features three distinctly Canadian co-branded licensed wine products: Team Canada Red, Team Canada White and Team Canada Icewine. Pillitteri will donate $3 of every bottle sold to the Canadian Olympic Foundation. 

  Brock University Professor of Marketing and Consumer Psychology Antonia Mantonakis is available for media interviews on this topic.

  
  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews: 

  *Sarah Ackles, Communications Specialist, Brock University [email protected] or 289-241-5483

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  Categories: Media releases

• New user-friendly tool aims to turn the tide on ocean equity 

  Wednesday, January 28, 2026 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE — January 28, 2026 — R0010

  For Jessica Blythe, Associate Professor in Brock University’s Environmental Sustainability Research Centre, equity is the key to supporting ocean sustainability. 

  Growing inequity in ocean-based activities has seen corporations benefit from ocean industries, such as offshore drilling and deep-sea mining, while coastal communities and marginalized people experience negative effects such as pollution and displacement.

  While equitable governance has been built into several global initiatives like the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, Blythe says there was no universally agreed-upon way to measure it — until now.  

  Together with an international team of researchers and practitioners, Blythe has developed a free tool for measuring equity in ocean-based projects and policies called the Ocean Equity Index (OEI), as described in a new paper in Nature.

  “With new global agreements, like the High Seas Treaty and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity framework, there are voluntary and legal requirements for oceans to be equitably governed,” says Blythe. “But when our team talked to people working in this space, there was little guidance on how to fulfil those commitments. If we’re not taking action towards equity, we’re not going to see improved outcomes.” 

  Whether used as a planning tool for proposed projects or as part of an adaptive management strategy, the OEI is designed to be highly adaptable and user-friendly at any stage.

  Assessments, which can be completed within hours by individuals or groups, generate a numerical score and recommended actions that can be reassessed at regular intervals to monitor progress over time.  

  “These characteristics of the tool are intentional to facilitate uptake in different contexts,” says Blythe. “It can be adopted in the global policy sphere and incorporated into ongoing monitoring and evaluation by companies or by governments at different scales.

  Of particular interest, Blythe says, is coastal communities “whose rights are being violated and whose resources are being co-opted.”

  “We’re hopeful that the OEI can be a tool of resistance for those groups.” 

  The OEI was developed over the course of three years by the Blue Justice Working Group, for which Blythe serves as co-Principal Investigator. Through extensive consultations and workshops, the team whittled down a list of 150 possible indicators to the 12 criteria seen in the final version. Early test versions were trialled by partners across the ocean sector, and around the world, to obtain feedback.

  The result is a resource that can be used across industries and in different cultural contexts.

  With the United States’ recent withdrawal of both commitment and funding from several global environmental agreements, Blythe says the need for an effective and free tool is especially important.

  “In order to realize better social and ecological outcomes in our oceans, we need to be able to take action where equity is lacking,” she says. “The tool facilitates better outcomes for groups impacted by ocean initiatives through involving them more, making sure their voices are heard and making sure benefits are shared equally.”  

  
  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  *Sarah Ackles, Communications Specialist, Brock University [email protected] or 289-241-5483

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  Categories: Media releases