Speakers
The ICCWS 2020 will welcome leading scholars in cool climate grape and wine research to speak at the conference, bringing their unrivalled knowledge and expertise to the symposium as invited speakers.
Opening Keynote Speaker
Brian Schmidt
Brain Schmidt (AC, FAA, FRS) is the only Nobel Prize winner who is also a cool climate grape grower and winemaker. Brian is a Distinguished Professor of Astronomy and the 12th Vice Chancellor and President of the Australian National University. He was raised in Montana and Alaska, USA, and received undergraduate degrees in Physics and Astronomy from the University of Arizona in 1989. He completed his Astronomy Master’s degree (1992) and PhD (1993) from Harvard University. For his work on the accelerating universe, Schmidt was jointly awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics. He operates Maipenrai Vineyard and Winery, a 2.7 acre vineyard with a small winery in the cool climate wine region of Canberra District producing Pinot Noir, and has served as non-Executive director of the Australian Wine Research Institute in Adelaide (AWRI).
Viticulture Keynote Speaker
Elizabeth Wolkovich
Elizabeth Wolkovich is currently an Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia and holds a Canadian Research Chair in Temporal Ecology. She completed her PhD in ecology at Dartmouth, followed by a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of California, San Diego and a Biodiversity Centre Fellowship at the University of British Columbia, after which she was an Assistant Professor in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University. Wolkovich’s research focuses on how phenology shapes plants and plant communities. She is particularly interested in how climate change will affect different winegrape varieties, and how shifting varieties may help growers adapt to warming. Winegrape projects in her lab draw on collaborations and data from France, Switzerland, New Zealand, California and British Columbia.
Oenology Keynote Speaker
Regina Vanderlinde
Regina Vanderlinde is a Professor of Biotechnology at the University of Caxias do Sul in Brazil. Regina studied biosciences at the University of Victor Segalen Bordeaux II, France. Since 1998, she has been working at the University of Caxias do Sul in southern Brazil focusing on oenology and ampelography. Vanderlinde has been a delegate from Brazil in the OIV since 2001, having participated in committees and work groups in the Executive Committee and in the General Assembly. In 2012, she assumed the post of scientific secretary in the Subcommittee of Analysis Methods of the organization, becoming the first representative from Brazil to occupy a position in the organization. She was also general manager for the Oenological Reference Laboratory (Laren). Regina Vanderlinde is the current president of the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) and a member of the Brazilian Oenologists Association and the American Society for Oenology and Viticulture. (ASEV). Regina’s presentation will focus on climate adaptation and the challenges of the adoption of new technology by wineries.
Wine Business Keynote Speaker
Coming soon
Science Communication Keynote Speaker
Kim Nicholas
Kimberly Nicholas is an Associate Professor of Sustainability Science at Lund University in Sweden. She studies how to manage natural resources to both support a good life today, and leave a thriving planet for future generations. In particular, her research focuses on sustainable farming systems that benefit both people and ecosystems, the wine industry under climate change, and linking research with policy and practice to support a zero-emissions society that she hopes to live to see. She nearly became a consultant to the California wine industry instead. She holds a BSc and PhD from Stanford University and MSc degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of California-Davis.
Seminars, Masterclass and Workshop Conveners
Stephanie Bolton
Stephanie Bolton leads the Grower Research, Education, & Communications initiatives for the Lodi Winegrape Commission, along with the LODI RULES program. Bolton provides targeted and daily support to Lodi winegrape growers in the areas of advanced grower education and outreach, marketing and promotions of the region’s diverse winegrapes, and – most notably – viticultural research and sustainability programming, including Lodi’s world-renowned LODI RULES sustainable winegrowing certification program. The Lodi AVA (CA Crush District 11) contains over 100,000 acres of grapevines, with a unique profile where new vineyard plantings exist alongside century-old vines, soil types range from sandy loam to volcanic terrain, and just about every trellising system invented is being used. In this dynamic region, Bolton’s role is key in facilitating effective networking and scientific communication for progressive winegrowing among the 750 farmers in the community – linking growers to the resources they need to farm to their full potential.
Dimitra Capone
Dr Dimitra Capone is an ARC Research Associate with the University of Adelaide’s ARC Training Centre for Innovative Wine Production. She has more than 24 years of experience in the area of aroma and flavour chemistry and has co-authored more than 60 peer reviewed publications as well as numerous technical articles and book chapters. Dimitra has extensive experience in both targeted and untargeted methods for the analysis of many classes of volatile compounds and their precursors in grape and wine samples, using techniques such as GC and HPLC with MS detection. Methods are developed and used routinely for research and encompass groups of compounds arising from grapes, fermentation and ageing. These range from monoterpenoids including 1,8-cineole, norisoprenoids, ethyl esters, lactones, and oxidised compounds, to taints such as chloroanisoles and chlorophenols. Dimitra’s research has also involved some of the most analytically-challenging compounds, such as potent thiols associated with ‘citrus’, ‘grapefruit’, ‘smoke’ and ‘roasted coffee’ aromas in certain wine styles. Analytical approaches using GC-MS, GC-MS-Olfactometry, and HPLC-MS/MS have led to the identification of compounds deemed responsible for characteristic aroma attributes including ‘plastic-like’ taints from various sources, and compounds important to ‘green’ aroma in red wine. Continuing with her passion for wine chemistry, Dimitra is currently investigating drivers of the distinctive flavours in Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon.
Simone D. Castellarin
Dr. Castellarin is an Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia, and a Tier II Canada Research Chair in Viticulture and Plant Genomics. Dr. Castellarin’s research focuses on grape production, and how the climate affects grape ripening and quality. In 2009, he received the Rudolf Hermanns Prize (Geisenheim, Germany) for outstanding scientific achievements in horticulture and viticulture. Dr. Castellarin investigates the ripening processes in grapes and the biological mechanisms that determine grape and wine quality. Moreover, he studies how grape quality is affected by environmental factors (temperature and water). Dr. Castellarin is developing viticultural strategies (irrigation, crop management, hormone applications, leaf removal) to improve ripening and the production of phenolics and aromatics in grapes.
Remy Charest
Rémy Charest is a journalist, writer, and translator based in Quebec City, Canada. He has been writing about wine and food since 1997 for various Canadian and American print and online publications, including SevenFifty Daily, Wine Enthusiast, Le Devoir, Le Soleil, Chacun son vin/WineAlign, EnRoute, Palate Press, Punch Drink, and Châtelaine, and has been a regular radio columnist for CBC/Radio-Canada. He has also judged national and international wine competitions, notably the WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada, the TEXSOM International Wine Awards, and the International Rosé Championships.
Ulrich Fischer
Born and raised in the Mosel valley in Bernkastel-Kues, Ulrich Fischer graduated from the University of Applied Sciences in Geisenheim with a degree in Viticulture and Enology, he continued his education in the graduate program of UC Davis. Working with Ann C. Noble he studied the impact of ethanol on the temporal perception of bitterness and astringency and on the modification of individual saliva flow of judges. He joined the food chemistry institute of Ralf. G. Berger at the University of Hannover. His PhD project focussed on the impact of dealcoholization on the sensory properties and composition of aroma compounds. In 1995 Dr. Fischer was employed at the state teaching and research center in Neustadt and is involved in research, teaching and consulting and chairing the viticulture and enology department. In 1997 he started teaching at the University of Kaiserslautern, which awarded him a honorary professorship in 2003. Since 2009 he teaches at the University of Gastronomic Sciences at Pollenzo, Piemonte Italy enology and wine Technology in the Master Program for International Food Culture and Communication. their sensory impact and how they can be altered by enological means. In 1997 he started his teaching at the University of Kaiserslautern, which awarded him a honorary professorship in 2003. Since 2009 he has taught at the University of Gastronomic Sciences at Pollenzo, Piemonte Italy enology and wine Technology in the Master Program for International Food Culture and Communication. their sensory impact and how they can be altered by enological means. In 2009 Prof. Fischer acted as the founding director of the newly established dual B.Sc. program for viticulture and enology at the WineCampus in Neustadt. His current research includes Riesling, microoxygenation of red wines, the cause of bitterness in white wine, measurement of grape-derived aroma precursors by FT-IR analysis as well as sensory changes induced by partial dealcoholization.
Denise Gardner
Denise Gardner is the founder and wine consultant of Denise Gardner Winemaking (DG Winemaking). Denise provides focused consulting and educational services that improve wine production efficiency, quality, and marketability. With virtual convenience, educational tools are available to all clients in the DGW Community, which help minimize stress and uncertainty in the cellar. She assists wineries by developing fermentation plans that optimize quality, providing effective wine processing decisions in real time, assisting with compliance, and crafting wines with intention. Denise’s passion and enthusiasm for wine began at age 16 where she started growing wine grapes in high school, and spent those early years enrolled in viticulture extension programs while working for local wineries. She has a B.S. in Food Science from Penn State University with a minor in Horticulture (2007), a M.S. in Food Science and Technology from Virginia Tech University (2009), the Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW) accreditation from the Society of Wine Educators (2013), and the Level 3 certification from the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET, 2015). She was the 2017 American Society of Enology and Viticulture (ASEV) – Eastern Section chair, which provides current, research-driven information to the regional wine industry and viticulture and enology student scholarships.
Melanie McBride
Melanie McBride is an adjunct professor and postdoctoral researcher with Ryerson University’s Responsive Ecologies Lab and founder of the ‘Aroma Inquiry Lab.’ Dr. McBride has undertaken site-specific research of aroma culture in France, the US and Canada to investigate the selection and use of raw, living and processed aroma materials as resources for ‘inquiry-based’ learning, making, communicating and cultural mediation. Departing from dominant sensory-perceptual and scientific paradigms, Dr. McBride’s emphasis on knowing through making reflects her pedagogical focus on ‘informal’ learning, as distinct from formal and discipline-specific traditions of educating.
Eddie McDougall
Eddie McDougall is an award-winning winemaker, chairman of the Asian Wine Review, wine critic and TV personality behind The Flying Winemaker, one of Asia-Pacific’s most dynamic wine brands. In 2018 he was presented the prestigious Young Achiever of the Year award by the drinks business. Passionate about bringing rosé wines to the masses, Eddie in 2011 had brought to life Asia’s largest rosé festival, the Rosé Revolution. With his immense contribution to growing the Rosé category Asia-Pacific, Eddie has now become a leading voice and technical adviser on rosé production and its commercial development across multiple markets.
Eddie holds a Bachelor of International Business from Griffith University, Australia and a Post Graduate Diploma of Wine Technology and Viticulture from the University of Melbourne. In 2013, Eddie was one of only 12 elite wine professionals selected for the Len Evans Tutorial, regarded as the world’s most esteemed wine judging program.
With over 15 years of winemaking experience, Eddie has worked with some of the most influential wineries in the New and Old World including the likes of Vietti, Mas de Daumas Gassac, Giant Steps, Deep Woods Estate and Silver Heights. In 2010, the young winemaker took his first step as a young entrepreneur, creating his Australian wine brand, Eddie McDougall Wines. 2018 brought on new and exciting challenges for Eddie as a winemaker as his business acquired a wine estate by the name of Gladstone Vineyard, located in the Wairarapa, New Zealand. Gladstone Vineyard is one of the country’s most established producers of Pinot Noir which dates back to 1986. When not spending time hanging out with his lovely wife Freddie and sons Hugo and Benji, Eddie is madly obsessed by all things related to rugby union.
Jaqui McRae
Jacqui McRae is a Senior Research Scientist at the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) and has been unravelling the chemical complexities of wine texture and clarity for over a decade. She passionate about science communication and is actively involved with the Australian Science Communicators, Wine Communicators of Australia and Pint of Science, Adelaide, and has conducted several successful events to promote wine science research to the broader community. Jacqui believes that effective communication is the key to bringing research outcomes to real world applications and is committed to engaging communities in science using interdisciplinary approaches such as science-art research collaborations. She is a keen explorer of the world’s wild places and a novice fiction writer.
Eugene Mlynczyk
Eugene Mlynczyk’s love of wine began in California while studying at Stanford University, where he earned his BA in Painting and Drawing (and later his MFA in Painting at Indiana University). Eugene’s interest in wine grew further after his return home to Toronto, Canada, inspired by the emerging local Niagara region. Eugene started studying wine in earnest in the late 1990s and launched a new career in the wine trade in 2001 while he was also completing his WSET Diploma with Honours. Eugene’s work role is National Sales Manager for the Principle Fine Wines team at Arterra Wines Canada, where he oversees four team members selling a global range of Luxury Wines across the country. With the support of many, Eugene became a Master of Wine in 2015, and is currently one of only six MWs in Canada. Eugene was presented with the Robert Mondavi Winery Award for the most outstanding performance across all the theory papers. His Research Paper topic was on local VQA Sparkling Wines, mirroring one of his specific wine passions. When not tasting and talking about wine, Eugene focuses on family activities, and can often be found running in the woods competing in his favourite sport, orienteering.
Alistair Nesbitt
Alistair is a Viticulture Climatologist with significant expertise in how weather and climate interface with wine production, globally. He holds a PhD in viticulture and climate science and a BSc and Master’s degree in Viticulture & Oenology. Alistair lectures internationally on viticulture – climate relations, consults to new vineyards, governments and the global wine industry, and draws on 20-years’ experience to help UK wine production businesses establish and operate sustainably. Alistair began his career in 1998 working in vineyards in Western Australia and New Zealand and has subsequently worked in France, Switzerland, Germany, China, Georgia and England. In 2010 Alistair began lecturing in Viticulture and Wine Science (Undergraduate and Master’s level) at Plumpton College (Sussex) where he also helped establish a UK wine-industry training program – WineSkills. Alistair is Owner of Vinescapes, an international company that primarily helps wine producers mitigate, adapt to, and manage environmental risks. Vinescapes is closely involved with cutting edge climate and wine research to better understand the impacts of weather and climate on varietal suitability and yields. Through this research Alistair and his team have modelled and identified the most suitable areas for wine production in the UK, down to field scale. This work helps those looking to invest in UK viticulture target investments in locations with more sustainable business prospects.
Karine Pedneault
Dr. Pedneault holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and a Master’s and PhD in plant biology from Université Laval, with a specialization in the extraction and characterization of secondary plant metabolites. She starts her career in wine science at E & J Gallo Winery (Modesto, California). She developed an expertise on the maturity of hybrid grape varieties in Quebec (2011-present) as an on-grant scientist at the Center de développement bioalimentaire du Québec and at Institut de recherche en biologie végétale (Montreal Botanical Garden; 2016-present), and as a professor in the Department of Science of Université Sainte-Anne. Her research focuses on the biochemistry of cold and disease resistant grape varieties, their cultivation in challenging environments, and the relationships between grape and wine quality and terroir. Since 2012, she contributed to the training of more than 30 graduate students and interns. With her students, she is the author of more than 100 publications, including 25 publications in peer-reviewed journals and book chapters. She currently leads one project from the Canadian Agricultural and Agri-Food Canada Cluster on viticulture and enology (2018-2023) and recently received funding from the Research Nova Scotia Trust for the establishment of an experimental winery in Université Sainte-Anne.
Liette Vasseur
Vasseur is a full professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Brock University where she is a member of the Environmental Sustainability Research Centre. She holds the UNESCO Chair on Community Sustainability. Her research is interdisciplinary and links issues such as community-based ecosystem management, climate change adaptation and resilience, and sustainable agriculture. Her climate change adaptation research is on agriculture and rural community of Lincoln. In the Chimborazo, Ecuador, she focuses on ecosystem-based adaptation of rural native communities. She is President of the Canadian Commission UNESCO and vice-chair for North America of the Commission for Ecosystem Management – IUCN. Two major projects focus on organic and sustainable vineyards in the Niagara region where she studies responses of the ecosystem to alternative techniques.
Fritz Westover
Fritz Westover is Viticulturist and owner of Westover Vineyard Advising, based in Houston, Texas. Fritz obtained his BS in horticulture and MS in Plant Pathology from Penn State University, where he worked on projects including grapevine decline, grape disease management, and the science of compost application in vineyards. He specializes in vineyard consulting for over 1,500 acres of vineyard, and is active in research and education in the south and southeastern US, drawing from more than 15 years experience in the vineyard industry including extension and outreach positions in Virginia, Texas, and California. Fritz contributes to wine industry educational programs in several states and is founder of Virtual Viticulture Academy, a leading resource for practical grape growing information for all levels of wine grape production.
Becca L. Yeamans-Irwin
Becca L. Yeamans-Irwin is an award-winning freelance writer with expertise in wine science and the environment. She has a Bachelor’s of Science in Biology from Saint Michael’s College in Colchester, VT, and a Master’s of Science in Environmental Sciences from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA. She has extensive scientific research experience as well as experience working directly in the wine industry. In addition to being published in peer-reviewed journal based on her past work, Becca’s passion for wine writing took off with the establishment of her blog, The Academic Wino. The Academic Wino is a highly technical blog, and is dedicated to dissecting and reviewing current research in enology and viticulture, while providing insights and thoughts on the current state of research related to wine. The articles reviewed span nearly every aspect of academia, and provide a public forum to discuss the state of research related to wine. In addition to her managing The Academic Wino, Becca is also a freelance writer, contributing to many wine-related publications. Finally, she is also Editor for the Wine Industry Insight NewsFetch, curating and distributing a daily newsletter with current and relevant news links for over 30K wine business professionals in the United States and abroad. Becca lives in Boulder County, Colorado with her loving husband, two sons, and her four-legged family members. When she’s not up to her elbows in peer-reviewed scientific journals and wine news, she can be found spending time with her human and animal family at a winery, microbrewery, or high up in the Rocky Mountains.