Mitch’s research seeks to quantify the return on investment of conventional vineyard management strategies thought to improve the overall quality and character of both wine grapes and finished wine. This project leverages an ongoing work in the lab by extending analyses to human sensory evaluation in order to link chemical signatures to consumer appreciable markers of quality. By testing the degree to which potentially costly field manipulations yield consumer perceptible improvements, Mitch will identify the viticulture strategy that maximizes quality and profit of BC white wines. This project represents the first of its kind for British Columbia in that state-of-the-science technical analyses are ground checked against real world market valuation in determining which results deliver consumer-relevant improvements (willingness to pay) to the character and quality of wine.
Education
2017
BSc
University of Victoria
I and my students use quantitative analyses of food and wine production systems to reveal linkages between ecological and social sustainability, “quality”, and the primacy of place … “Ecogastronomy”
Dr. John Volpe
