Grape Growers of Ontario

June 19, 2008

Grape Growers of Ontario Receive Premier's Award for Agri-Food Innovation Excellence

St. Catharines, ON (Thursday, June 19, 2008): Following the Premier’s Award ceremony for Agri-Food Innovation Excellence yesterday, Grape Growers of Ontario Board Chair, Bill George Jr. and CEO, Debbie Zimmerman are pleased to announce that the Grape Growers of Ontario received the Premier’s Award for Agri-Food Innovation Excellence for the work on the Grape Growers of Ontario’s VITIS Vine Management System.

Grape Growers of Ontario Chair, Bill George Jr. comments, “It is a privilege to receive the Premier’s Award for Agri-Food Innovation Excellence. The award recognizes the Grape Growers of Ontario’s commitment to keep our growers on the leading edge of technology and to develop a system to trace the grapes from the vineyard to the table.” He goes on to say, “I extend congratulations to our members, J.B. Puddicombe and Sons Ltd. and Featherstone Vineyard and Winery who also received the Premier’s Award for their innovation in agriculture.”

Debbie Zimmerman, CEO of the Grape Growers of Ontario states, “We are honoured to receive the Premier’s Award for Agri-Food Innovation Excellence for our work in establishing the VITIS Vine Management system. She went on to say, “I am proud of the success of our organization in developing an electronic traceability system for our growers and processors which provides them with a vineyard management tool to track grape quality and yield.”

The vine management system, known as VITIS, is based on the latest advancements in GIS/GPS technology. With the launching of VITIS, with our partners Agricorp and the Agricultural Adaptation Council, Ontario’s grape industry moved into a leadership role in Canada as the first commodity organization to offer growers a web-based vine management tool. The second and most recent phase of VITIS is the automation of weigh bills, designed by the GGO with the assistance of our partner, The Strategem Group. The automation of weigh bills serves to improve the efficiency and accuracy of the current system of reporting harvest data and creates a food safety, quality assurance and traceability system.

The Grape Growers of Ontario is the official organization that represents over 600 registered growers of 17.1 million vines on 15,000 acres in the province’s four viticulture areas: Niagara Peninsula, Pelee Island, Lake Erie North Shore and Prince Edward County.

For more information contact:

Debbie M. Zimmerman, C.E.O.

(905) 688-0990 ext. 225

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