Articles by author: Brock University

• Ontario’s top winemaker award goes to a Brock alum named Shiraz

  Thursday, June 22, 2017 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 22 June 2017 – R00120

  One of Brock’s first graduates of the Oenology and Viticulture program was recognized for his winemaking prowess at this year’s Ontario Wine Awards.

  Shiraz Mottiar (BSc ’00) won the coveted 2017 Winemaker of the Year award at a ceremony held in May. The Ontario Wine Awards, considered by many as the Oscars of the winemaking industry, were founded 23 years ago by international wine consultant, judge and writer Tony Aspler, as a means to celebrate Ontario’s best VQA vintages.

  In winning this year’s award, Mottiar — who is the lead winemaker at Malivoire in Beamsville — is in good company. He is the third graduate of the OEVI program in Brock’s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI) to take home the award.

  Rob Power (BSc ’00), a fellow member of Mottiar’s graduating class, was named as the 2008 Winemaker of the Year, while Thirty Bench Wine Makers’ Emma Garner (BSc ’04) secured the honour in 2015.

  “We’re thrilled to see Shiraz receive this well-deserved recognition,” said CCOVI director Debbie Inglis. “CCOVI is committed to training highly qualified personnel for the grape and wine industry, and seeing Shiraz and two other alumni recognized for excellence is evidence that we’re not only meeting but excelling in that mandate.”

  Mottiar has worked in the winemaking industry for nearly 20 years, starting as a cellar hand at Malivoire after graduating from Brock. Within a year, he was promoted to assistant winemaker. After spending a year overseas, he returned to Malivoire and took on the lead winemaking duties in 2005.

  In his spare time, Mottiar also works in his personal vineyard on the Beamsville Bench. He attributes a large part of his success to the mix of theoretical classroom knowledge and experiential learning he had in local vineyards and cellars during his time at CCOVI.

  “As I got a grasp of the routine and understanding of winemaking, I could apply some of the theory and experimental design learned at CCOVI within our own vineyards and lab to continue learning and always improving our methods and quality of wine,” he explained.

  Mottiar has also continued to be a strong supporter of the institute since graduating. He recently served as the host and member of the judging panel for the 2017 Experts Tasting and will be working alongside CCOVI to develop this year’s School of Cool education program at the upcoming International Cool Climate Chardonnay Celebration.

  The industry-focused workshops and seminars offered by CCOVI have also been of benefit, he said. Being a member of the Fizz Club (lead by CCOVI Oenologist Belinda Kemp), for example, has helped guide his sparkling winemaking.

  “It couldn’t have come at a better time for us because Fizz Club started just after we pressed our first grapes for sparkling,” he said. “Our growth in this field has been accelerated by having the Fizz Club around, to learn from Belinda Kemp and the international colleagues she invites, along with tasting and bouncing ideas off our peers in the club.”

  While he loves the thrill of the “crush” (when the year’s harvest of grapes begins its transition into wine) it’s spending that time between the vines and tasting the fruits of his labour that he’s most passionate about.

  “Some of the happiest moments are alone in the vineyard on the tractor — just getting the job done — or in the cellar, tasting from a tank or barrel,” he mused. “That gives you that awesome feeling of accomplishment.”

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  • Maryanne Firth, Writer/Editor, Brock University maryanne.firth@brocku.ca, 905-688-5550 x4420 or 289-241-8288

  – 30 –

  Categories: Media releases

• Brock, international researchers explore links between perfectionism and procrastination

  Thursday, June 22, 2017 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 21 June 2017 – R00119

  Do perfectionists procrastinate?

   

  Well, yes and no, concludes a study by an international team that includes Brock University’s Danielle Molnar, Assistant Professor in the Department of Child and Youth Studies.

  Perfectionism is the belief that perfection must be strived for at all costs. People high in this personality trait set excessively high performance standards for themselves, and consider achieving anything less as being unacceptable.

  But whether or not a perfectionist habitually delays or postpones tasks depends on the type of perfectionist the person is.

  “Perfectionism is not the same thing as conscientiousness,” Molnar says. “Perfectionism represents a compulsion to be absolutely perfect in all respects whereas conscientiousness represents healthy striving for excellence.”

  There are two main types of perfectionism.

  People with ‘perfectionistic strivings’ have a compulsion to set their own standards of perfection, says Molnar, and relentlessly push themselves to achieve those high goals, being self-critical in the process.

  By comparison, people with ‘perfectionistic concerns’ still set very high standards and feel compelled to reach them, but also tend to be preoccupied with what others think of them, are more sensitive to external pressure and criticisms, and are motivated by a fear of failure rather than achieving success.

  The new research indicates that the latter group — people higher in perfectionistic concerns — are more likely to procrastinate, and thus more likely to miss deadlines or in some cases even abandon their goals.

  “They’re so afraid of making that one mistake or not being able to meet their lofty goals that they tend to focus on their negative feelings surrounding the task and engage in avoidance techniques rather than make meaningful progress towards their goals,” Molnar says.

  People with perfectionistic strivings, on the other hand, are less likely to procrastinate and usually stick it out, she says.

  “They’re more likely to follow through and engage in the goals in the first place, meet deadlines, these sorts of things. They have this belief that, ‘I can get there’ and so they keep pushing themselves and pushing themselves until they reach their destination.”

  But Molnar warns against seeing perfectionistic strivings as an effective way to motivate people to become successful.

  “Yes, perfectionistic strivings are associated with less procrastination, which may guide you to reach your goals, but they’re also associated with depression, anxiety and stress, so there can be a substantial cost.”

  Molnar explains many of the roots of our perfectionistic tendencies stretch back to childhood.

  Those strivings frequently originate from parents who have very high standards for their children, but mix those expectations with warmth and acceptance.

  But, parents with highly demanding expectations who tie their child’s worth to performance and show greater affection when the child is successful can result in perfectionistic concerns.

  “So you’re the best child in the world when you’re meeting standards but then, when you’re not, there’s a coldness and more of an aloofness or there could actually be punitive measures,” Molnar says.

  She gives suggestions on how people can deal with both perfectionism and procrastination, including:

  • Reassess your goals: Is it realistic? Can we take it back a notch? Does it have to be perfect, or can it be great? Are these my goals or are they being set by others?
  • Recognize that re-adjusting goals does not mean that you’re lowering your standards
  • Separate your behaviour from your identity: I have perfectionistic tendencies, versus, I am a perfectionist
  • Give yourself permission to make mistakes and not be ‘perfect’ by cultivating self-compassion and self-acceptance to combat self-criticism
  • Schedule breaks during your task to allow for immediate relief from any negative feelings that may emerge while working on the task, but also allow for a distinct return to the task.

  The international research team includes Molnar, Fuschia Sirois in the Department of Psychology at the University of Sheffield in England and Jameson Hirsch from the Department of Psychology at East Tennessee State University.

  Their findings are detailed in their study, “A Meta-analytic and Conceptual Update on the Associations Between Procrastination and Multidimensional Perfectionism,” published this spring in the European Journal of Personality.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews: 

  • Maryanne Firth, Writer/Editor, Brock University maryanne.firth@brocku.ca, 905-688-5550 x4420 or 289-241-8288

  – 30 –

  Categories: Media releases