Grape Vine
The Canadian Grapevine Certification Network is changing the landscape of grapevine certification as we know it.
On March 8 the Canadian Grapevine Certification Network (CGCN-RCCV) released amendments to their Certification Standards. These amendments include the development of an entirely new set of standards called “Certification Program, Option 2 Protocols,” and minor changes to their original Certification program that has now been renamed “Certification Program, Option 1 Protocols.”
The “Option 2” protocol was developed to address the immediate need for certified grapevine propagating material by allowing certification of already existing vineyard blocks through the use of High-Throughput Sequencing (HTS) testing technology currently performed by the Brock University Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI).
“The CGCN-RCCV was created because a healthy wine industry in Canada depends on healthy Canadian-produced virus-free vines,” says Bob Prange, CGCN-RCCV’s Secretary and Chair of the Certification Committee. “The CGCN-RCCV hopes that offering a new “Option 2” source of ‘Certified’ vines will better serve the current needs of our growers.”
Hans Buchler, Chair of the CGCN-RCCV explains that establishing “Option 1” propagating blocks can take up to seven years before sufficient material becomes available for nurseries.
“Option 2” will speed up this process to generally less than one year. Material propagated under the “Option 2” protocol will be labelled and deemed ‘Certified,’ while material propagated under the “Option 1” protocol will be labelled and deemed ‘Certified Plus.’