Icewine harvest adds to the wine tourism experience

Photo of Mark Holmes

Prof Mark Holmes staying warm by the fire with a glass of Ontario red wine. (Photo courtesy Mark Holmes)

by Owen Roberts

At least one good thing has come out of this year’s incessantly deep and long cold snap – a great icewine harvest.

Sometimes the harvest, which typically yields about 800,00 litres of ice wine, takes place at night. That’s how producers try to avoid the warming or melting effect of the sun on the frozen grapes, which are left on the vine through the fall to dehydrate and concentrate their sugar content.

But that hasn’t been a worry this year, given the stubborn, rock-bottom -25 C temperatures experienced in the Niagara region...

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Internet memes become online activism for Canadian politics

Photo of Tamara Small looking at her computer

Photo:  Mido Melebari

By Megan Swim

Memes— humourous or thought-provoking online images, videos and pieces of text—have been popping up all over the internet as a way of online activism for people promoting the discussion of Canadian politics.

But a Guelph researcher has found that as a technology, the internet and digital political tools such as memes have had less impact on Canadian politicians than other disruptive technologies.  

Prof. Tamara Small, of the Department of Political Science at the University of Guelph, says that while digital politics creates a...

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Shining a spotlight on SURG

A closer look at the University of Guelph’s undergraduate research journal

By Sameer Chhabra

In 2007, an undergraduate student at the University of Guelph had a curious idea.

Matt Teeter, now an associate professor of medical biophysics at the University of Western Ontario, approached members of the Office of Research to find a way to launch an academic journal aimed at showcasing research specifically conducted by the undergraduate student body at the University.

Through a collaboration between the Office of Research and McLaughlin...

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New advances in animal welfare and housing

Tina Widowski discussing work process in front of chicken cages

Prof. Tina Widowski and her team are leading studies into hen behaviour and welfare, and best practices for the management of housing systems.