Niagara College is celebrating an award-winning weekend at Cuvee, where the College and it’s teaching winery captured three awards, including a Gold designation for its 2007 Dean’s List Pinot Noir Canadian Oak Project.
Key personnel, including Jon Ogryzlo, Dean of Food and Wine Sciences, and faculty member Jennifer Wilhelm were also honoured for their contributions to the Ontario wine industry.
The awards, often referred to as the “Oscars” of the Ontario wine industry, are the only awards in Canada where winners are selected by winemakers. This year, 45 winemakers tasted more than 200 wines from 56 wineries to determine the winners.
The Niagara College Teaching Winery’s (NCT) 2007 Dean’s List Pinot Noir Canadian Oak Project was named top Limited Edition Red Wine. It’s the second year in a row an NCT Winery Dean’s List Pinot Noir has won at Cuvee – another feather in the cap of Winemaker/Professor Terence Van Rooyen and students from Niagara College’s Winery and Viticulture Technician program.
Aged in Canadian Oak, the 2007 Dean’s List Pinot Noir Canadian Oak Project has a black cherry nose with spicy vanilla oak, and long finish. It sells for $38.95 and is available at the Wine Visitor + Education Centre at the Niagara-on-the-Lake Campus.
Ogryzlo was recognized with the Tony Aspler Cuvée Award of Excellence for Leadership and Vision in the Ontario Wine Industry in recognition of his role in the creation of the state-of-the-art Niagara College Wine Visitor + Education Centre.
Wine Visitor + Education Centre is a unique state-of-the-art industry centre set in the College’s teaching vineyards and is designed to showcase and promote the Ontario and Canadian wine industry, provide wine tourism information services, and feature academic and wine industry programming. It is also home to the NCT Winery, Canada’s first and only commercial teaching winery. With a full range of production winemaking equipment and facilities, the NCT Winery provides students with learning opportunities that range from the grape crush to selling the finished product in the Teaching Winery’s on-site retail store.
As Dean of Food and Wine Sciences, Ogryzlo leads an academic division that includes the NCT Winery, the Winery and Viticulture Technician and Wine Business Management programs, the Niagara Culinary Institute and the College’s postsecondary and apprenticeship culinary programs.
“It’s particularly rewarding to be honoured by the very industry that we serve,” said Ogryzlo. “This is a testament to the hard work and talents of our staff, faculty and students, and our College’s vision for innovative wine education that helps drive one of Niagara and Ontario’s key industries.”
Jennifer Wilhelm, coordinator of the College’s wine programs, was also named Wine Educator of the Year in the Promote the Promoters Competition.
A Certified Professional Sommelier, Wilhelm teaches in Niagara College’s Wine Business Management, Hotel and Restaurant Management postsecondary programs and Continuing Education and Canadian Association of Professional Sommeliers courses.
Students and staff from the Niagara College Teaching Winery and Niagara Culinary Institute (NCI) students were on-hand at the Gala to share in the success. Culinary students prepared and served food for guests and students from the College’s wine programs poured wine from the NCT Winery and other area wineries.
The Niagara College Teaching (NCT) Winery serves as a practical learning enterprise for students in Niagara College’s Winery and Viticulture Technician, Wine Business Management (Graduate Certificate) and Certified Sommelier programs. Since opening in 2002, the wines of the NCT Winery have captured more than 70 national and international awards. The NCT Winery wines can be purchased at the Wine Store located at the recently opened Wine Visitor + Education Centre at the Niagara-on-the-Lake Campus, with all proceeds supporting student learning. For information, visit www.nctwinery.com.
Niagara College is one of Ontario’s 24 publicly-funded Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology. With 8,000 full-time students, Niagara College offers more than 90 diploma, baccalaureate degrees and advanced level programs at campuses in Welland, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Niagara Falls and St. Catharines. Areas of specialization include food and wine sciences, advanced technology, applied health and community safety, and the College is home to the globally-recognized Niagara Culinary Institute and Niagara College Teaching Winery. In 2008, Niagara College launched an unprecedented $90 million campus redevelopment project, which is scheduled for completion in 2011. For more information, visit www.NiagaraCollege.ca.
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For more information, contact:
Gordon Hunchak
Director, Marketing & Communications
Niagara College
905-735-2211, ext. 7567
905-650-7820 (cell)
ghunchak@niagaracollege.ca
