College winemaker going abroad
One of Niagara College’s instructors has a chance to learn from international industries thanks to a scholarship from Nuffield Canada.
Gavin Robertson, a graduate of the college’s winery and viticulture technician program, and the teaching winery’s head winemaker, vineyard co-ordinator and instructor, is the recipient of $15,000 and the opportunity to learn from industry professionals abroad.
He said in a news release he applied for the Nuffield agricultural scholarship to learn from international grape growers in an attempt to address the issues Canada’s grape growers face.
“My position at the teaching winery and as an instructor at Niagara College has provided me with a great deal of insight into the many challenges that these grape growers face,” he said.
These challenges include environmental factors, large market competition, and labour issues among other things. Robertson said he feels by learning how other wine regions and grape growers — such as those from regions in Europe and “new world” winemakers in Australia and South America — are able to mitigate these issues, he will learn ways to help the situation here at home.
“It seemed clear that there could be some really useful lessons gained by examining the ways in which these industries train their own vineyard workforces,” he said.
Nuffield executive director Shannon McArton said Robertson is the first in the wine industry to receive the scholarship and the organization is excited to broaden its agricultural horizons.
Nuffield Canada’s goal, according to its website, is to nurture leadership in the agricultural sector and personal development in scholars through international study. Each year, the organization gives three scholarships worth $15,000 each to Canadians with a passion for any type of agriculture. The scholarship goes towards a minimum 10 weeks of travelling and studying.
Robertson will have two years to complete the program, including submitting a report of what he’s found while studying abroad.
Robertson said he’s received support from administration and his colleagues in the teaching winery, the Canadian Food and Wine Institute, research and innovation and Niagara College as a whole.
“My highest hope is that this spirit of collaboration, investigation and innovation will help drive a more agile, robust and progressive Canadian viticulture industry in decades to come,” Robertson said.