Pictured: Lorraine Snihur (front left) and college president Dan Patterson (front right) accompany Sophie, Countess of Wessex (front middle) on a walk from the Wine Visitor + Education Centre to a reception held in her honour at Benchmark restaurant.
Niagara College welcomed royalty on Sept. 15 as Her Royal Highness Sophie, Countess of Wessex, visited the Niagara-on-the-Lake Campus to celebrate the launch of NC’s Canadian Food and Wine Institute.
The Countess toured Niagara College’s Wine Visitor + Education Centre, where students, faculty and staff described the winemaking process and provided an overview of its current culinary and wine research projects. The Countess also viewed the adjacent teaching vineyards, and received a demonstration of the student-created Wine Visitor + Education Centre iPad mobile application.
Sophie, Countess of Wessex GCVO, is the wife of Prince Edward, the youngest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh.
“We’re very honoured to welcome Her Royal Highness to Niagara College, and we’re grateful for the opportunity to show her the exciting and innovative work that’s being done by our students, faculty and staff,” said Dan Patterson, president of Niagara College.
The Canadian Food and Wine Institute Research Centre is a joint project with Niagara College’s applied research division, Niagara Research. Industry and the federal and provincial governments have contributed more than $4 million to establish the centre, where expert faculty researchers, students and graduates will collaborate with business and industry partners in areas such as product and recipe development, nutritional labelling and analysis, sensory and consumer testing, regulatory assistance and commercialization.
“This is a wonderful opportunity to highlight our College’s important work in the area of applied research,” said Patterson. “We’re using our expertise to help companies innovate and create new products and processes. It supports economic development in our region and beyond, and it provides our students and graduates with significant opportunities to put their skills and knowledge to work with our industry partners.”
Among the culinary research projects highlighted during the Countess’s visit was a project with MADD Virgin Drinks. Through the Canadian Food and Wine Institute Research Centre, Niagara College student and faculty researchers worked with the company, which produces a line of non-alcoholic beverages, to create a non-alcoholic lager that matches the flavour profiles of an alcoholic lager, but with zero percent alcohol, as opposed to the current .5 percent standard for non-alcoholic beverages.
Niagara College’s Canadian Food and Wine Institute Research Centre provided the expertise and facilities that helped MADD Virgin Drinks successfully develop this unique product.
“We believe that the winery, viticulture and brewery studies programs at Niagara College, in concert with Niagara Research, gave us the ideal combination of expertise and facilities to develop and refine our line of alcohol-free drinks,” said Brian Bolshin, president and CEO of MADD Virgin Drinks. “We’re delighted and proud to be working with Niagara College on this unique initiative and help them showcase the scope and capabilities of their curriculum to a North American audience.”
During her tour of the Wine Visitor + Education Centre, The Countess viewed student- and faculty-led demonstrations of the grape crushing, separation and fermentation processes. She also sampled three Niagara College Teaching Winery wines, including the 2010 Dean’s List Chardonnay, 2007 Dean’s List Meritage and the 2009 Savant Ice wine, along with an assortment of local cheeses.
Following her tour, the Countess attended a private reception at Niagara College’s teaching restaurant, Benchmark. Her visit marked the second time that Niagara College has hosted a member of the Royal Family at its Niagara-on-the-Lake Campus – in 2009, His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales visited to commemorate the opening of the Wine Visitor + Education Centre.
View a gallery of photos from NC’s royal visit here.
