Articles by author: Brock University

• With students and research to support, Cuvée is back for 2018

  Thursday, August 24, 2017 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 24 August 2017 – R00148

  With the 2017 grape harvest just weeks away, the time has also come to make plans for attending the 30^th annual Cuvée Grand Tasting.

  The 2018 event will be held Friday, March 23 at the Scotiabank Convention Centre in Niagara Falls. Online tickets will be available at cuvee.ca on Oct. 1, when wine afficianados can take advantage of early-bird prices.

  This marks the fourth year that Brock University’s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI) has taken the lead in organizing Cuvée, a weekend-long celebration of VQA wines and local cuisine in the heart of Ontario wine country.  Brock, through CCOVI, produces the Cuvée program to support the future of the grape and wine industry.

  Cuvée 2018 will see the return of the popular “Winemakers’ Favorite Wines” feature, along with gourmet food delicacies and an Après Cuvée party fuelled by live music and featuring selections from micro-breweries, cideries and VQA wineries.

  It has also been confirmed that last year’s Cuvée Grand Tasting generated more than $37,000 in net revenues, of which $15,000 goes to fund scholarships while more than $18,000 will support research to benefit the grape and wine industry.  Another $3,700 goes to the Niagara Community Foundation, in recognition of their past stewardship of Cuvée.

  Cuvée manager Barb Tatarnic said the 2017 event drew more than 750 guests to the gala Friday night Grand Tasting, with hundreds more taking part in the weekend-long enRoute program that offers special tastings at wineries around Niagara.

  “Through the last few years we’ve rebranded, reworked and rejuvenated the event,” said Tatarnic. “We’re thrilled with its success and the positive feedback we’ve received from our guests”

  CCOVI Director Debbie Inglis said Cuvée’s continued success reflects the vitality and significance of the grape and wine industry and its supporters.

  “Hosting the event involves hundreds of hours of work by devoted volunteers, but it is all worthwhile when you see how the profits support crucial research projects and help students complete their education,” Inglis said.

  Alexandra Gunn, a top student in Brock’s Oenology and Viticulture (OEVI) degree program, said her studies are a rich blend of classroom work and real-world research experience, and that attending Cuvée let her interact with industry leaders and realize how CCOVI’s research benefits grape growers and wineries first-hand.

  “Cuvée is one of the paramount events to Ontario’s grape and wine industry and it highlights the importance of the OEVI program within the broader grape and wine industry,” she said.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Dan Dakin, Media Relations Officer, Brock University ddakin@brocku.ca, 905-688-5550 x5353 or 905-347-1970

  Brock University Marketing and Communications has a full-service studio where we can provide high definition video and broadcast-quality audio.

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  Categories: Media releases

• Brock research shows Ontario weeks away from West Nile epidemic

  Thursday, August 24, 2017 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 22 August 2017 – R00147

  Ontario this summer is headed for one of its worst outbreaks of West Nile virus in the past 15 years, according to research by Brock University scientist Fiona Hunter and PhD student Bryan Giordano.

  The alert stems from the testing of mosquitoes in recent weeks, which found that Ontario’s second West Nile epidemic since 2002 is imminent.

  The Brock researchers’ paper West Nile virus in Ontario, Canada: A twelve-year analysis of human case prevalence, mosquito surveillance, and climate data was published Tuesday, Aug. 22 in the journal PLOS ONE.

  The paper, written by lead author Giordano, along with Hunter and recent Brock graduate Sukhdeep Kaur, highlights the data that can be used to predict the number of human cases of West Nile each year. For the past 15 years, Public Health Ontario has been conducting a comprehensive West Nile surveillance program, setting mosquito traps around the province.

  “Because we’ve had such a comprehensive program in Ontario all these years, we have an amazing data set to work with,” says Hunter, one of Canada’s leading mosquito experts. “It explains why some years we have outbreaks and other years we don’t.”

  By taking the total number of West Nile-positive mosquito pools reached by mid-to-late August, and multiplying that number by two, the predicted final number of positive mosquito pools for the year can be estimated. This final number can be used to predict the number of confirmed human cases for the year.

  “There’s a direct relationship between the mosquito surveillance and the eventual human cases,” says Hunter, an entomologist who has become internationally known for her work on the global spread of Zika.

  With more than 250 mosquito pools having tested positive so far this year as the peak “epiweek” approaches, history shows that will lead to nearly 340 human cases ­— putting 2017 in line with 2012 as the worst outbreak years since 2002.

  “We are well on our way to having a West Nile virus outbreak in Ontario,” said Hunter.

  As a mosquito researcher for the past 16 years, Hunter finds it frustrating that people aren’t taking the West Nile risk seriously later in the summer.

  “I saw mosquito repellent being cleared out at a store recently, like the season is over. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Now is the time people should be putting on their insect repellent.

  “From a public health perspective, it is important to remind people to protect themselves from mosquito bites. There may not seem to be many mosquitoes out biting at this time of year, but this is when they are their most dangerous.”

  Hunter says even though there are far more mosquitoes early in the season, it’s later in the year when the insects have had time to feed on infected birds and spread the West Nile virus among themselves. The mosquito species that transmit the virus typically start feeding on humans later in the summer.

  “That’s why now is so dangerous. Most of the other nuisance mosquitoes are dropping off in numbers, so it gives people a false-sense of security.”

  Hunter and Giordano are available for interviews about the research.

  FACTS ABOUT WEST NILE VIRUS:

  West Nile virus is spread to humans when they are bitten by mosquitoes that have been feeding on infected birds.

  Most people infected do not show any symptoms, but about one in five will show common symptoms such as fever, headache, nausea, body aches, vomiting and a rash on chest, stomach or back.

  About one in 150 infected people will show more serious symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiff neck, muscle weakness, confusion, tremors, numbness and a sudden sensitivity to light.

  There are no vaccines to prevent or medications to treat West Nile. If going outside between dusk and dawn, when most mosquitoes feed, you can avoid West Nile by wearing a long-sleeved shirt and light-coloured clothing, and using an insect repellant that contains DEET.

  For more information go to https://www.ontario.ca/page/west-nile-virus

   

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Dan Dakin, Media Relations Officer, Brock University ddakin@brocku.ca, 905-688-5550 x5353 or 905-347-1970

  Brock University Marketing and Communications has a full-service studio where we can provide high definition video and broadcast-quality audio.

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  Categories: Media releases