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.
Pierre-Yves Bournerias
Pierre‐Yves Bournerias is winemaker at Institut Oenologique de Champagne, in Champagne. He has been an advisor to around 30 Champagne producers since 1990. This service includes sample analysis at laboratories, tasting at all stages including blending tasting to build the “cuvées” as well as description tastings to enrich presentation brochures and websites for some customers. Pierre‐Yves works with small to large Champagne wineries from harvest until the release of bottles to market. In addition, Pierre‐Yves is in charge of the development of Institut Oenologique de Champagne in Loire Valley and Jura. He is in contact with the big wineries of each area, placing oenological product trials with yeasts, enzymes, tannins & other products and processes, but also in the vineyard with the LalVigne project in Champagne Pierre‐Yves is looking after export distributors in England, Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Montenegro, India, Japan, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark & Poland, and travels in other countries on a sparkling wine consultancy basis. Pierre‐Yves is also judge for many local and international wine competitions, such as International Wine & Spirit Competition UK, Mondial de Bruxelles, Chardonnay du Monde, Effervescents du Monde, Pinot Noir du Monde Swizerland, International Chardonnay Challenge NZ. He gives lectures about sparkling winemaking and tasting and is involved in a live radio show about terroir, wine and food every Sunday morning on a local radio station covering four French provinces.
Lawrence Buhler
Lawrence’s exposure to the wine industry began right from his youth, where he spent a lot of time travelling overseas with his family. His father’s passion for wine coupled with his family travels gave him the opportunity to become exposed to wine regions around the world. After high school, he began studying chemical engineering in university. He realized, however, that he had a passion for wine, which led him to attend Algonquin College’s Sommelier Certificate program. Following this passion even further, he then transferred from engineering at University of Ottawa to Brock University, finishing his science degree in Oenology and Viticulture in 2003. After graduating, he joined Peller Estates, allowing him to become part of a large winemaking team, travel to other wine regions of the world including France, Chile, Argentina and Australia. He spent many years there, working with the company from 2003 – 2011.
From there, Lawrence made his way to Ontario’s Lake Erie North Shore work at Colio Winery from 2012 – 2015 before heading to Western Canada to work at Time Winery and Evolve Cellars in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley from 2015 to 2018. In March of 2018, he would bring his winemaking experience back home to Ontario, securing the Winemaker position at Henry of Pelham.
“Having the opportunity to work in and visit many different wine regions has allowed me to gain a better understanding of winemaking and create a network of colleagues internationally,” he said. “Although international travel has many benefits, working in Canada’s different wine regions has been the most exciting. Between Niagara, Lake Erie North Shore and the Okanagan, I have had the opportunity to work with amazing winemaking teams.”
Thomas Burr
Thomas Burr is a Professor Emeritus in the Section of Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology at Cornell University. He received Ph.D. in Plant Pathology at University of California, Berkeley in 1977 just prior to being hired as Assistant Professor at Cornell’s New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, NY. From 2005-2015 he served as Director at the Geneva campus and Associate Dean of CALS, Cornell. Dr. Burr’s research involved bacterial diseases of fruit crops. One focus area involved Agrobacterium vitis, the cause of grape crown gall; its biology in vineyards; and interactions with grapevines.
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.
Roberta De Bei
Dr Roberta De Bei is a research fellow in the School of Agriculture, Food and Wine of the University of Adelaide where she moved after completing a PhD in viticulture at the University of Padova, in Italy. In over a decade at the University of Adelaide, Roberta has worked on various projects including the physiology of water stress, near infrared applications, carbohydrate metabolism, vine balance and digital/precision technologies for information-driven vineyard management. She is the co-inventor of VitiCanopy, an image-based App to measure grapevine canopy size and assess vineyard variability in real time. Roberta is currently working on improving and expanding digital techniques into innovative tools for growers and viticulture practitioners which will assist in better management of vineyards across Australia.
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.
Jim Handman
Jim Handman is Executive Director of the Science Media Centre of Canada. Before joining the SMCC in 2017, he spent 17 years as Executive Producer of the award-winning CBC Radio science program, Quirks & Quarks. During that time, Jim won numerous prizes for science journalism, including the prestigious Walter Sullivan Award from the AGU. He has also taught broadcast journalism at Ryerson University, was Science-Writer-in-Residence at the Journalism School of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and was the CanWest-Global Fellow in Media at Western University, where he taught a graduate seminar in science journalism. Jim is a frequent speaker on the topic of science and the media, and also conducts training workshops in communications for scientists in Canada and the US. He most recently gave his SciComm presentation to science graduate students at McGill, Western, and McMaster Universities.
Lynnette Hudson
Lynnette Hudson has had a vast and varied career as a winemaker for over 25 years, both in New Zealand and in many of the great winemaking regions of the world. Her first degree was a Bachelor of Science, Double Major in Botany and Zoology from Auckland University. Once she realised her dream was to be a winemaker, Lynnette completed the Post Graduate Diploma from Lincoln University, passing with Distinction. After her first two harvests in NZ she travelled to Sussex, to work harvest at Chapel Down, making sparkling wine with grapes from the Isle of Wight and developed a passion for winemaking overseas. Lynnette started working at Pegasus Bay Winery (PB) in 1993 and this became her base. She became one of the winemakers in 1996 and was instrumental in creating the house style and improving quality within all Pegasus Bay Wines. While based at PB she worked as a flying winemaker in Hungary and Romania. Other overseas experience included working in Burgundy for two years with three esteemed producers; Domaine George Roumier, Domaine Nicolas Potel and Domaine de la Vougeraie. Lynnette has a strong scientific background and well versed at making traditional styled wines. In recent years Lynette has become more focused on minimal input wines, especially making Orange wines for the last four years. Letting things happen naturally but carefully watched over by a scientific eye. Her education and practical experience has given her a huge insight into winemaking and particularly in trying to have a minimal impact on wines and our environment.
Elsa Macdonald
Elsa is the sixth Canadian and second female in Canada to achieve the title of Master of Wine. She holds an undergraduate degree from Ryerson University in Toronto and a Master of Science in Telecom from Syracuse, New York. Since her 2003 major career shift from Management Consulting in Telecom and Financial Services, Elsa has worked in the wine trade in sales, marketing and education roles. Currently, Elsa is the Director of Wine Education at Arterra Wines Canada. Elsa serves on the national board for the Canadian Association of Professional Sommeliers and is certified by the same body. Elsa also works with several wine schools in Canada delivering WSET diploma and other master classes. Elsa has extensively traveled the wine world and her Master of Wine final research paper was titled “Consumer Opinion of Apassimento Style Wines from Niagara Peninsula”.
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 is a Research Manager for the Graphene Research Hub at the University of Adelaide where she is actively involved in managing projects, communications and outreach for the research team. Prior to this, she achieved 10 years research experience at the Australian Wine Research Institute where she investigated the chemical complexities of wine texture and clarity and was awarded the Australian Women in Wine Researcher of the Year award in 2018. Jacqui is 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. She also instigated and coordinated the successful Artist in Residence program at AWRI. 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 also 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.
Shiraz Mottiar
Born and raised in Fergus, Ontario, Shiraz entered the Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute at Brock University and was a member of its first graduating class in 2000. In the fall of that year, Shiraz joined the staff of the Malivoire Wine Company, a new winery on the Beamsville Bench recognized for raising the bar of Ontario wine with innovative methods, as Assistant Winemaker. He became Winemaker in 2005 and has embraced Malivoire’s founding philosophy: a winery’s excellence begins with healthy soil and vines. Shiraz continues to design and identify sustainable wine growing practices in Ontario, respecting each vintage as a unique event. Shiraz believes that the Niagara Peninsula is still defining its terroir, and he is determined, with each succeeding vintage, to contribute to that definition. Shiraz also owns a small Beamsville Bench vineyard, purchased in 2003, where he and his wife Isa live and farm three hectares of chardonnay and pinot noir. When not on the tractor or walking Rudy the dog, he can be found with his three children; biking, skating on the frozen pond or roasting marshmallows over a bonfire.
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.
Maria Paz Diago
Maria Paz Diago is a researcher at the Instituto de Ciencias de la Vid y del Vino (Institute of Grapevine and Wine Sciences), in La Rioja, Spain, and a lecturer in Viticultural Practices and Precision Viticulture at the University of La Rioja. She received her PhD in Food and Agricultural Sciences from the University of La Rioja, and her M.S. in Viticulture and Enology from the University of California, Davis. Dr. Diago’s research is focused on the use and application of new, non-invasive technologies for plant phenotyping and vineyard monitoring in the context of precision viticulture. She has participated in several European and national research projects on agriculture and food science and has authored more than 60 publications in SCI journals.
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.
Melissa Proudlock
Niagara based artist, Melissa Proudlock created her first wine painting back in the Fall of 2013. She is a full-time graphic designer for a local winery and while she was creating a wine label of a cello made out of vines, the idea of using wine as paint was born. Using wine as an artistic material is unique, unpredictable, and impossible to control. Through trial and error, she has perfected her craft and discovered that wine provides a variety of colours. She found that the same varietal from a different wine region results in different colours; a Pinot Noir from the Niagara Region would have a different hue than a Pinot Noir from France. The process of preparing the wine to use as the medium has also been perfected (aging, reducing, and adding lees which is sediment found at the bottom of wine tanks). The wine needs to be the right consistency before she can even begin to create her artwork. She paints everything from portraits, animals, landscapes, musicians to fan & horror art and welcomes commissions. Her artwork has been showcased around the Niagara Region and she has been recognized around the world.
Tim Ribaric
Tim Ribaric is the Acting head of the Digital Scholarship Lab in the Brock University Library. He has a Master’s degree in computer science from Brock University and a Master’s of Library and Information Science from University of Western Ontario. He spends most of his time teaching how to use programming languages to perform analysis and generate insightful visualizations. He has many fond memories of his Dad making wine in the house every Fall while he was growing up.
Treve Ring
Treve Ring is a wine writer and editor, judge and speaker, and perpetual traveller. A certified sommelier, WSET diploma holder, French wine scholar and instructor, and Sherry instructor, she is based on Vancouver Island, Canada, though is most often found on a plane or in a vineyard. After completing her Art History degree with Distinction from the University of Victoria and being exposed to the world of wine business at Christie’s in London, England, she switched gears, leaving the realm of art for the world of wine. Focusing on wines of place and time, Treve been writing professionally since 2001. Her work is regularly seen in numerous publications including World of Fine Wine, Meininger’s Wine Business International, Wine Anorak, Wine & Spirits, Sommelier Magazine, Wine Enthusiast, WineAlign, The Alchemist, Quench Magazine, Vitis, Lonely Planet Travel, and others. In addition to her role as executive editor and critic at Gismondi on Wine, she is an editor at large for Scout Magazine, and SIP Northwest Magazine. She tastes thousands of wines each year, and is an established wine judge in Canada, the UK, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United States. In 2012, she co-founded Cru Consultancy, a boutique wine education and consultation company. Though her travels take her all over the wine world, Treve has spent the last few years concentrating and researching sparkling wine globally.
Eric T. Stafne
Eric T. Stafne is an Extension and Research Professor at Mississippi State University and the Coastal Research and Extension Center. His office is at the South Mississippi Branch Experiment Station in Poplarville. Dr. Stafne holds a B.S. in Forestry from Michigan State University, an M.S. in Horticulture from the University of Arkansas, and a Ph.D. in Plant Science from the University of Arkansas. From 2005 to 2011, Eric was on the faculty at Oklahoma State University where he was the primary instructor for the annual Oklahoma State University Grape Management Short Course and conducted research on various aspects of vinifera and hybrid grape production. From 2009 to 2014, Stafne served as Project Director for the national eXtension Grape Community of Practice which include members from the U.S. and Canada. He also served on the national guiding committee for eXtension Educational Technology Learning Network. Dr. Stafne was on the American Society of Enology and Viticulture-Eastern Section Board of Directors from 2012-2014. Also, during his career, Eric was vice-chair of the National Grape and Wine Initiative extension and outreach theme committee and president of the American Society for Horticultural Science-Southern Region. He is currently working with grape growers and wineries interested in interspecific hybrid winegrape production in southern Mississippi as well as the expansive blueberry industry that supplies fruit for wineries in Mississippi and Alabama.
Creina Stockley
Dr Creina Stockley, PhD MBA, has 28 years of experience in the alcohol and health arena, and was based at the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) from 1991 to 2018. Her academic background is clinical pharmacology and physiology, and she has also been associated with public health projects via the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences at Flinders University. She is a currently a consultant to the alcohol beverage industry and an Adjunct Senior Lecturer in the School of Agriculture, Food and Wine at the University of Adelaide. In 1997, she was appointed the Australian government representative on the Health and Safety Commission of the Organisation International de la Vigne et du Vin (OIV) and served as President of the Commission IV Safety and Health, being awarded the Knight of the Order of Agricultural Merit (France) in 2015 and, more recently, the OIV Merit Award. She has been actively involved in the preparation of alcohol policy, such as reviews of the National Alcohol Strategy, the NHMRC Australian Alcohol Guidelines and warning labelling, as well as actively being involved in wine research projects on a range of health, nutrition and safety related issues. These have included the potential allergenicity of wine, and the effects of wine and wine-derived phenolic compounds on cardiovascular diseases, cognitive function and cancers. She has presented papers at in excess of 115 conferences and workshops and published in excess of 70 peer-reviewed papers, 85 non-peer-reviewed papers and 12 book chapters.
Dr. Elizabeth Tomasino
Dr. Elizabeth Tomasino is an Associate Professor of enology at Oregon State University and a core member of the Oregon Wine Research Institute including management of the winemaker sensory panel. Elizabeth’s Ph.D. in Oenology was earned from Lincoln University in New Zealand and incorporated components of microbiology, winemaking, sensory science, chemistry and food science. Her knowledge of wine was expanded through multiple industry experiences with E & J Gallo, Yalumba Winery, Robert Mondavi Winery, Giesen Wine Estates, and Pernod Ricard NZ. These experiences have helped fuel her interest in applied wine research. Elizabeth’s current research program is at the interface of wine chemistry and sensory and she integrates her research findings into her undergraduate and graduate teaching program. Of particular interest, she links chemical compounds to sensory perception, exploring the many interactions that occur. Projects include the impact of chiral terpenes in aromatic white wines to aroma perception and determining the causes of fruity aromas in wine using fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). She is also uses advanced chemical analysis to differentiate and characterize Pinot noir wines from the sub-AVAs of the Willamette Valley. New projects are investigating the impact of norisoprenoids to Pinot noir, determining how lipids define mouthfeel in Pinot Noir, and developing predictive models for tropical fruit aromas in white wine. She is always looking for new ideas and collaborations and welcomes the chance to discuss and enjoy wine!
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.