Media releases

• New program for the Ontario wine industry aims to increase red wine sales

  Thursday, June 30, 2016 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: R00144 – 30 June 2016

  With foreign imports profiting most from Ontario’s rising red wine sales, Brock University’s grape and wine research centre is launching a new program to help domestic wineries capture a bigger piece of the action.

  TanninAlert will track tannin levels — which impact bitterness and astringency in wine — and provide Ontario grape growers and winemakers with information on the ripeness of these flavours to help consistently create rich and robust Ontario red wines. Brock’s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI) has partnered with Ontario Grape and Wine Research Inc. (OGWRI) to create the program.

  Red wine sales in the province totaled $695 million last year and Ontario wines accounted for 22 per cent of that. TanninAlerts’s target is to grow that market share by more than 20 per cent over the next decade, creating 800 jobs in the process.

  “We are extremely excited to add TanninAlert to CCOVI’s lineup of outreach programs,” said CCOVI director Debbie Inglis. “Our flagship program VineAlert has proved that providing the industry with Ontario-specific data can yield substantial economic returns.”

  The research team is currently building a tannin database to understand the levels in Ontario grapes and the differences that occur between varieties and vintages. Based on this data, winemaking trials will take place to develop winemaking production techniques based on tannin level and grape composition to optimize wine quality.
  When the service rolls out to grape growers and winemakers, they will be able to receive tannin analysis on samples from their operation and receive recommendations for red winemaking techniques based on if tannin levels are low, medium or high.

  CCOVI oenologist Belinda Kemp says although the program is starting in Ontario, the goal is to expand TanninAlert across Canada.

  OGWRI chair Matthias Oppenlaender said partnering with CCOVI to develop TanninAlert was a natural fit.

  “OGWRI and CCOVI have a long history of collaboration in order to enhance the profitability and sustainability of the Ontario grape and wine industry,” said Oppenlaender.

  “We look forward to turning this innovative idea into a reality. This new service will provide Ontario winemakers with an ideal opportunity to get the optimum quality from an Ontario grown grape.”

  The program received $150,000 from the Ontario Centres of Excellence VIP II program with $204,724 in cash and in-kind funding from OGWRI.

  TanninAlert is also part of a larger research program looking to improve grapevine health, wine quality and market competitiveness that has received $1.42 million in industry and government support. For more details on this program visit https://brocku.ca/brock-news/2016/04/million-dollar-research-program-invests-in-grape-and-wine-industrys-future.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Kaitlyn Little, Marketing and Communications Officer, Brock University klittle@brocku.ca, 905-688-5550 x4471

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  Categories: Media releases

• Brock research shows walking in naturalized landfill areas improves mood, connection to nature

  Thursday, June 30, 2016 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: R00143 – 29 June 2016

  Need a pick-me-up? Just head to the nearest landfill — one that’s been converted to a park, that is.

  New Brock University research has found strolling through green space that was once a landfill has positive impacts on mood and physical health and encourages a feeling of connectedness to nature.

  “No one has really ever looked, experimentally, at the extent to which these naturalized landfills are beneficial for mood and overall well-being and yet, we’re restoring these landfills all over the country and the world,” says Shawn Geniole, graduate student and lead author of the study published June 27 in the journal Ecopsychology.

  Each study participant walked two routes: one in the Glenridge Quarry Naturalization Site in St. Catharines and the other through an adjacent business and commercial zone.

  Researchers compared the physical and psychological impacts on participants from the two walks.

  The results showed that, although alertness and attention increased and stress levels decreased after both routes, participants’ mood improved with the naturalized landfill walk but not with the urban walk. Overall, the study found the naturalized landfill walk increased participants’ connectedness to nature more than the urban walk.

  “The main finding is that, although you get positive benefits from both walks, mood improvement was really specific to walking in nature,” says Professor of Psychology Cheryl McCormick, the research team’s leader.

  “So, you can get some stress reduction and attention control increase in both walks, but the real psychological and health benefits — an improvement in mood — came from the naturalized landfill walk.”

  The Brock study, Restoring land and mind: The benefits of an outdoor walk on mood are enhanced in a naturalized landfill area relative to its neighbouring urban area, comes at a time of rapid urbanization worldwide.

  Various studies have shown people living in cities are more likely to develop mood disorders than those living in the countryside and that the likelihood of developing schizophrenia increases with the degree of exposure to an urban environment.

  “Those are the people who need nature most, the ones who are least connected with it,” says McCormick. “They might be most susceptible to the harmful effects of urbanization.”

  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
   
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  Categories: Media releases