by Jamie Drummond and Malcolm Jolley

For more than 100 years the research station at Vineland, Ontario has pushed Canadian agriculture forward and studied how to grow delicius and beautiful things in our cool climate. After years of neglect, the centre spun off from the federal government recently and set itself up as a not-for-profit under the leadership of CEO Dr. Jim Brandle and a dynamic board of directors, chaired by Niagara wine pioneer Donald Ziraldo. (Ziraldo and co. actually set up the VQA standards at Vineland, in a building now used by Foreign Affair Winery.) The Vineland Research and Innovation Centre is thriving, working in partnership the federal and provincial governments as well as the University of Guelph. As well as looking into breeds and growing techniques, the centre is leader in consumer taste research under Dr. Isabelle Lesschaeve.

Jamie Drummond and I went to talk to Ziraldo recently, as the centre hosted an all-Niagara lunch for the 2010 convention of the ‘Distinguished Restaurants of North America’. The next day, he was to annunce a $33 million dollar capital campaign, featuring new facilities designed by Jack Diamond, one Canada’s leading architects. Jamie shot the interview below. – Malcolm Jolley

Malcolm Jolley is the Managing Editor of Good Food Revolution and Executive Director of Good Food Media, the non-profit organization that publishes GFR. Follow him at twitter.com/malcolmjolley.

This video was made possible through the kind support of Fortessa Canada / Schott Zwiesel.