CCOVI partners with industry event to highlight Ontario Chardonnay

July 29, 2022

by Andrea Peters, The Brock News

The School of Cool is now out for the summer, but not before first providing valuable insight from Brock experts into cool climate winemaking and viticulture.

Returning last week as a popular component of the International Cool Climate Chardonnay Celebration (i4C), the School of Cool was informed in part by Brock University’s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI). As the education partner, CCOVI worked alongside the i4C and industry partners to develop educational sessions that explored various aspects of winemaking and viticulture.

The event featured the Great Chardo Swap — an initiative developed and organized by CCOVI Senior Scientist Belinda Kemp that saw a dozen winemakers from east and west of the Welland Canal swap grapes to make Chardonnay.

Kemp worked with 12 Niagara winemakers to bring the idea to fruition, including three graduates of Brock’s Oenology and Viticulture (OEVI) program: Emma Garner (BSc ’04), Gabriel Demarco (BSc ’13) and Shiraz Mottiar (BSc ’00).

There was no funding or budget for the project, Kemp said.

“Not $1 exchanged hands – it has been donations every step of the way over five years,” she said. “This would not have been possible without the incredible industry support of this CCOVI initiative.”

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