BCWGC February 19, 2026 R&D Committee Meeting
2026-01-08 08:00 - 17:00 (America/Vancouver) | Zoom
February 19, 2026 – 12:00 – 1:00 – Hannah Charnock, Brock University – Mitacs Proposal – Tracking Provincial Sparkling Wine Harvest Chemistry & Characterizing Chemical and Sensory Qualities of BC Bubbles
Sparkling wine is a growing market segment, highlighting clear opportunities for domestic development. In BC, producers face significant vintage-to-vintage variability driven by climate pressures, yet there is currently no central framework to track harvest chemistry or characterize the composition of finished sparkling wines across regions. This project addresses that gap by establishing a provincial harvest chemistry database for key sparkling wine varieties alongside sensory and chemical benchmarking of finished wines, providing practical tools to support data-driven harvest decision-making and long-term category development with enhanced quality and resilience.
Researcher Bio: Hannah Charnock holds a PhD in Oenology & Viticulture from Brock University, where her research focused on the chemistry of sparkling wine aging. She recently completed a postdoctoral appointment at the University of Bordeaux’s Institut des Sciences de la Vigne et du Vin, conducting industry research on red wine aroma composition and sensory interactions. Her background includes harvests at premium sparkling wine producers in the UK, and industry leadership experience in sensory science and quality systems at Phillips Brewing & Malting Co. Hannah holds her WSET Level 3 and a Certificate in Wine Business Management from the Goodman School of Business.
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BCWGC January 15, 2026 R&D Committee Meeting
2026-01-15 12:00 - 13:00 | Zoom
January 15, 2026 – 12:00 – 1:00 – Dr. Joanna Fountain, Lincoln University, NZ – Climate change impacts and adaptation options in cool climate wine regions: from knowledge to action
Bio/Introduction
Dr. Jo Fountain, is an Associate Professor at Lincoln University in Aotearoa New Zealand. She is a rural social scientist with diverse research interests focused on analysis of change and resilience in primary industries, tourism systems, and communities located in rural regions. Current projects include analysis of destination and tourist resilience in the face of natural hazard risks and ongoing and intensifying climate variability, and the changing shape of the wine industry in the context of climate change. Jo has been involved in cross-cultural and international research collaboration with colleagues in China/Hong Kong, Australia, Europe and Canada.
Climate change impacts and adaptation options in cool climate wine regions: from knowledge to action
The overall goal of this presentation is to explore synergies and opportunities for ongoing collaboration between New Zealand researchers and the goals of the BCGWC Climate Resilience Working Group. The current presentation will summarise preliminary findings from surveys and interviews conducted in the Okanagan wine region in summer 2025 as part of a larger project comparing experiences and opinions of New Zealand and Okanagan wine producers.
Dr Fountain will also discuss the recognised challenges in converting climate change knowledge to implementation of short and longer-term adaptation activities, and outline a new five-year multi-disciplinary project which aims to address the ‘Adaptation Gap’ in the New Zealand context.
Register here

BCWGC February 19, 2026 R&D Committee Meeting
2026-02-19 12:00 - 13:00 | Zoom
February 19, 2026 – 12:00 – 1:00 – Hannah Charnock, Brock University – Tracking Provincial Sparkling Wine Harvest Chemistry & Characterizing Chemical and Sensory Qualities of BC Bubbles

Sparkling wine is a growing market segment, highlighting clear opportunities for domestic development. In BC, producers face significant vintage-to-vintage variability driven by climate pressures, yet there is currently no central framework to track harvest chemistry or characterize the composition of finished sparkling wines across regions. This project addresses that gap by establishing a provincial harvest chemistry database for key sparkling wine varieties alongside sensory and chemical benchmarking of finished wines, providing practical tools to support data-driven harvest decision-making and long-term category development with enhanced quality and resilience.
Researcher Bio:
Hannah Charnock holds a PhD in Oenology & Viticulture from Brock University, where her research focused on the chemistry of sparkling wine aging. She recently completed a postdoctoral appointment at the University of Bordeaux’s Institut des Sciences de la Vigne et du Vin, conducting industry research on red wine aroma composition and sensory interactions. Her background includes harvests at premium sparkling wine producers in the UK, and industry leadership experience in sensory science and quality systems at Phillips Brewing & Malting Co. Hannah holds her WSET Level 3 and a Certificate in Wine Business Management from the Goodman School of Business.
Register here

BCWGC April 16, 2026 R&D Committee Meeting
2026-04-16 12:00 - 13:00 | Zoom
April 16, 2026 – 12:00 – 1:00 – How wildfire smoke exposure may change the aroma of wines
The aim of the presentation is to give a quick overview of o past and current research in smoke taint; o the current PhD project, illustrating how it may contribute to the research field – the project is an exploratory analysis, looking for broader chemical changes in grapes and wines resulting from wildfire smoke exposure; o and current mitigation and treatment strategies.
Presenters:
Carien Catlett; PhD Student University of British Columbia Okanagan, Irving Barber Faculty of Science, Chemistry. Supervised by Dr Wesley Zandberg
Bios:
Carien Catlett is enrolled as a PhD student at the Okanagan campus of the University of British Columbia under the supervision of Dr Wesley Zandberg. She obtained her master’s degree in South Africa in the field of Chemometric applied to Spectroscopic data in the field of fluoro-carbon chemistry. Carien and her family moved to the Okanagan in 2023 from Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa.
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BCWGC May 21, 2026 R&D Committee Meeting
2026-05-21 12:00 - 13:00 | Zoom
May 21, 2026 – 12:00 – 1:00 – Torin Kelly, Invasive Species Council of BC and Lisa Scott, Okanagan and Similkameen Invasive Species Society – Invasive species awareness in BC and critical insights for newly planted Okanagan vineyards

Invasive plants and insects are more than a nuisance; they have the potential to cost BC grape growers millions of dollars if left unchecked. Join this session to hear about invasive species and resources available for vineyards across the province. Get firsthand examples of how vineyards in the Okanagan can work to better manage the spread of Puncturevine, Sandbur, Russian Elm, Tree of Heaven, Spotted Lantern Fly, and Brown Marmorated Stinkbug. Presentations and resources from Torin Kelly of the Invasive Species Council of BC and Lisa Scott of the Okanagan and Similkameen Invasive Species Society.
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Grape & Wine Cluster Research Updates: Update #1 - May 28th
2026-05-28 09:00 - 11:00 | Zoom
Join us to hear from several researchers working within the AgriScience Grape & Wine Research Cluster as they share updates on the first three years of their research projects! Attendees will have a chance to learn about current research from across Canada on topics like soil health, vine stress, wine flavour modification, cold hardiness, and more. We hope you will join us!
Update #1 – May 28th
Activities covered in this webinar will include:

Activity 4: Vegetation management for long-term productivity and enhanced ecosystem services in Canadian semi-arid vineyards (Dr. Mehdi Sharifi, AAFC Summerland)
Activity 9: Influence of temperature and heat-stress mitigation strategies on grape quality in British Columbia vineyards (Dr. Simone Castellarin, University of British Columbia)
Activity 11: Wine flavour modification through non-traditional yeasts, oenological treatments, and taint remediation (Dr. Debbie Inglis, Brock University)
Activity 15: From carbon sequestration to terroir: Understanding the impact of abiotic stresses on grapevine, berries, and wine quality to foster sustainable grape and wine production (Dr. Karine Pedneault, Université du Québec en Outaouais)
Activity 17: Enhancing the resilience of Nova Scotia vineyards to climate change through improvements to ecosystem services (Dr. Vicky Lévesque, AAFC Kentville)

Date: Thursday, May 28th, 2026
Time: 12:00pm to 2:00pm Eastern time
Location: Zoom webinar
The webinar is free to attend but registration is required!
Register here

Grape & Wine Cluster Research Updates: Update #2 - June 25
2026-06-28 09:00 - 11:00 | Zoom
Join us to hear from several researchers working within the AgriScience Grape & Wine Research Cluster as they share updates on the first three years of their research projects! Attendees will have a chance to learn about current research from across Canada on topics like soil health, vine stress, wine flavour modification, cold hardiness, and more. We hope you will join us!
Update #2 – June 25th
Activities covered within this webinar will include:

Activity 12: Selection of superior grapevine material using traditional field evaluations and genomic/metabolic signatures for cold resilience (Dr. Jim Willwerth, Brock University)
Activity 14: Increasing climate change resilience by a better understanding of cold hardiness and with novel frost protection methods (Dr. Andréanne Hébert-Haché, Centre de recherche agroalimentaire de Mirabel)
Activity 16: Increase productivity, climate change adaptation, and resilience of northeastern Canadian vineyards through different weed, insects, fungal disease, and virus control strategies (Dr. Andréanne Hébert-Haché, Centre de recherche agroalimentaire de Mirabel)
Activity 18: Growing more resilient and hardy wine grapes in the face of climate change in an Eastern Canadian environment (Dr. Harrison Wright, AAFC Kentville)

Date: Thursday, June 25th, 2026
Time: 12:00pm to 2:00pm Eastern time
Location: Zoom webinar
The webinar is free to attend but registration is required!
Register here

The Science of Stress with Dr. Scholasch: How Water Shapes Wine Quality
2026-07-07 11:00 - 12:00 | Le Vieux Pin, 5496 Black Sage Road, Oliver, BC, V0H 1T1, Canada
Overview

Join us for a lunch with Dr. Thibaut Scholasch, co-founder of Fruition Sciences and one of the world’s leading authorities on vine water status and its relationship to fruit composition, yield, and wine quality.
Dr. Scholasch’s work is grounded in over two decades of sap flow research and applied vineyard physiology, and he has reshaped how growers and winemakers in regions from Napa to Bordeaux think about irrigation and the impacts it has on climatic adaptation and wine quality.
In this talk, Dr. Scholasch will cover:

How vine water stress (and the timing of it) drives anthocyanin, tannin, and sugar accumulation
Practical tools for measuring vine water status in real time, beyond visual cues and soil moisture alone
Yield-quality tradeoffs: when reducing yield actually improves quality, and when it’s a wasted sacrifice
How these principles apply specifically to the climatic and soil conditions of the Okanagan Valley

This is a working session for growers, vineyard managers, winemakers, and researchers who want to move past rules-of-thumb irrigation scheduling and toward a physiologically grounded, data-informed approach.
Details:
📅 Tuesday, July 7th
🕐 11:00 a.m.
📍 Le Vieux Pin
🎟️ Free with RSVP
Lunch will be served. Q&A to follow.

Register Here

BCWGC July 16, 2026 R&D Committee Meeting
2026-07-16 12:00 - 13:00 | Zoom
July 16, 2026 – 12:00 – 1:00 – Dr. Jumi Gogoi, UBC – Decision support for BC wine grapes: Cold hardiness modeling and the Canadian Vineyard Atlas
This session will introduce new predictive models being developed to forecast cold hardiness risk across BC’s diverse vineyard regions and grape varieties. We will also showcase the Canadian Vineyard Atlas – a free, interactive map app that lets growers explore vineyard locations and access daily weather and satellite data across BC. Together, these tools aim to support BC growers with timely, science-based information for vineyard risk management.
Register Here
