Debbie Zimmerman, CEO of the Grape Growers of Ontario, is pleased to announce the organization's 2024/25 Board of Directors, including the re-election of Chair Matthias Oppenlaender and Vice Chair Kevin Watson.
Matthias, with his wife Monica and their five children, live in Niagara-on-the-Lake, where they farm over 800 acres of certified sustainable vineyards. Matthias was elected Grape King by his fellow grape growers in 2006, and the following year was elected to the Grape Growers of Ontario’s Growers’ Committee and the Board of Directors. In 2009 Matthias was elected Vice Chair of the Board, a position he held until he was first elected Chair in 2016. In addition to the GGO Board of Directors, Matthias is the Chair of Ontario Grape and Wine Research Inc. (OGWRI), a for-profit joint Board of growers and processors established in 2007 to determine, guide, and fund the research priorities of Ontario’s grape and wine industry. He is also the Treasurer of the Canadian Grapevine Certification Network (CGCN). CGCN is a national not-for-profit corporation established by provincial industry associations from Ontario, BC, Nova Scotia, and Quebec to advance the Canadian grape and wine industry with a sustainable supply of certified propagative grapevine material. Matthias also represents the Grape Growers of Ontario on the Ontario Fruit & Vegetable Growers’ Association Board of Directors and Management Committee and is the Chair of OFVGA’s Finance Committee.
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