Brock University: New Chair of CCOVI Advisory Council Brings Wealth of Industry Experience

There’s a new but familiar face at the helm of the Advisory Council providing Brock’s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute with a direct link to industry insight.

Shiraz Mottiar (BSc ’00), Team Principal and General Manager with Malivoire Wine Company, was named Advisory Council Chair during the group’s March meeting.

Among CCOVI’s first graduating class, Mottiar joined Malivoire right after Convocation in 2000 and was promoted to Winemaker in 2005. In his current role, he continues to guide the winery and industry towards a more sustainable future.

“It is a true honour to play a role in CCOVI, an institution that profoundly changed the course of my life,” said Mottiar. “Being part of a team that brings all the stakeholders together to shape the research and knowledge in our Canadian wine industry will be a fulfilling journey.”

Chaired by an industry executive, the CCOVI Advisory Council’s role is to present and consider the opinions of the Canadian grape and wine industries on the structure, content and relevance of CCOVI’s research and educational mission and mandate; advise CCOVI on the changing needs and priorities of the grape and wine industries; and communicate CCOVI’s research and educational activities and achievements to stakeholder communities.

Mottiar has been recognized for excellence in the industry throughout his career.

In 2017, he was awarded Quench Magazine‘s Winemaker of the Year at the Ontario Wine Awards, and in 2021, Malivoire was honoured by WineAlign as Canadian Winery of the Year at the National Wine Awards. Mottiar has also been a Board Member and Education Committee Member of the International Cool Climate Chardonnay Celebration, sits on CCOVI’s Fizz Club Steering Group and continues as a longstanding and integral Committee Member of Sustainable Winegrowing Ontario.

“We are excited to have Shiraz Mottiar joining CCOVI in this leadership role, capitalizing on his vast experience in grape growing, winemaking and business management, all key focus areas for the Institute,” said CCOVI Director Debbie Inglis. “As Shiraz sets a course for the next era, I would also like to formally recognize the growth and stability CCOVI achieved under our previous Advisory Council Chair, Allan Jackson, who helped shape CCOVI into the modern institution it is here in the heart of the Niagara region.”

Jackson, co-founder of Jackson-Triggs, chaired the Advisory Council since 2011 before retiring. He fulfilled a prominent leadership role in facilitating strong industry-University relations with the grape and wine industry.

Jackson was Advisory Council Chair through many senior administration changes and helped ensure the Brock community knew the important role CCOVI played in the ongoing sustainability and resilience of the industry. A scientist himself, Jackson advocated for staff scientist positions in CCOVI, helped drive the Triggs Vinifera Lecture Series, and supported the expansion of CCOVI into offering services and training to the industry related to the research being performed in the institute.

“I believe the reason that my collaboration with Dr. Inglis was successful was that we each had credentials and credibility within both academia and the Niagara wine industry,” said Jackson. “Dr. Inglis assumed the lead on selling the potential value of CCOVI to academia and I took the lead in the Niagara wine circles. We both knew we had each other’s full support, and it worked.”