The federal and provincial governments announced funding Tuesday morning for a new wine lab at Acadia University in Wolfville, N.S.
“This is an opportunity to grow a sector with very limited public money that’s not saying to one company that we’re betting on you, we’re betting on a sector,” Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil said .
The investment totals $487,960 and will be split, with the federal government paying 60 per cent with Nova Scotia paying the rest of the tab.
The funding is coming from the Growing Forward 2 program over a two-year period.
Staff at the lab, which will include both university and industry members, will analyze wine quality. Other aspects of production and growth will be researched.
“We’ve got a world-class wine industry here in Nova Scotia. This type of research can take it to the next level,” said Scott Brison, Nova Scotia MP and the president of the Treasury Board.
Before many wines are bottled in the province, they need to be tested, which is normally done in Ontario or Quebec, according to Stewart Creaser, a board member of the Winery Association of Nova Scotia.
The turnaround time can be up to three weeks.
With this new lab, expected to open in June or July, testing would still need to be paid for but could be completed within days or hours.
“It’s something that has been an initiative for the winery association for some years, and we’re just thrilled to see it happening,” Creaser said.
Suzanne Corkum, who owns Sainte-Famille Wines in Falmouth, said she’s not sure the lab will help her bottom line, but it will help with maintaining quality and helping Nova Scotia companies expand.
“In order to (create) new products, we need the research,” she said.
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