22 RESEARCH will be valuable to island growers
amidst the grapes and a keen interest in the academics of agriculture. “The industry here is
growing quite quickly, and I guess it's reached a critical mass where someone is willing to pay attention,” he says. As well as analyzing grape samples at his lab in Victoria, Watts monitors how grapes are affected by sun exposure caused by the pruning of leaves as well as the use of kaolin, a clay-like substance applied to grapes in a bid to reduce ultraviolet exposure and deter insects without affecting quality. “This is an exciting
opportunity to bring scientific rigour and analysis to measuring ripeness parameters and to learn how they vary with viticulture practices,” says Lamont Brooks, president of the Wine Islands Growers Association, one of the groups that's supporting the $82,500 study. Additional support for the work is offered by the federal and provincial governments through programs delivered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC. “This important new knowledge will allow our winery businesses to continue to produce and improve the crisp aromatic wines so characteristic of our growing area,” Brooks adds. Preliminary findings are anticipated by the spring of 2019 with final results planned for 2020.
COUNTRY LIFE IN BC • NOVEMBER 2018 nfrom page 21 For Michael Abbott,
vineyard manager at Blue Grouse, the research stands to fill a huge gap in the current knowledge base of Island winemakers. As things stand, ripeness is determined by rather basic measurements of acid and sugar levels conducted in the field. At the end of the day, Abbott says, deciding when to harvest essentially comes down to picking a sunny day before the rainy season.
Island-centric research A lovely display of Pinot Gris grapes ready for harvesting. SEAN MCINTYRE PHOTO
“One of the hardest things about being in somewhat of an isolated region is that all the research typically applies but not to the same degree. It's hard to get good, founded information out of research that's happening in California, that's happening in Ontario, that's happening even in the Okanagan,” Abbott says. “I think it's fantastic that we've started to get the ball rolling here on Vancouver Island because every bit of information is going to help us along.”
While no one research
project will solve all the challenges, every little bit counts. “The idea behind research is that there is no one golden key that can be the solution to all of our problems, but with each research project or with each finding comes a different perspective or a little bit more light,” he says. “Over time, we'll be able to perfect and fine tune what we're doing with these results.”
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