Improving Sustainability in Wineries

Alumni Spotlight: Mike Anderson Improves Sustainability in Wineries

You graduated with a Master of Science, specializing in Food Science. How has your time in LFS impacted you in your career since graduating?

Having an MSc. from UBC and studying in the UBC Wine Research Centre, definitely got my C.V. more looks when entering the competitive but small wine industry.  But for me, the biggest impact has been from my time learning how to research, ask the right questions, and continuously adapt to new challenges – all skills that I definitely had to learn doing a research-based thesis.  As I discuss below, our industry has faced some major challenges and we’ve had to continuously adapt and learn, which I am truly grateful that I’ve been able to do so far.

What were the highlights of university life in LFS and at UBC?  

The highlights of my time at UBC were meeting so many different people from all over the world and making many friendships that have lasted even to this day, almost 20 years.  I come from a small town in the Interior of BC, and moving to UBC Vancouver for 7 years of my life really changed my perspective on many things and helped me grow as an individual.

You have had a long (over 15 years) career in the wine industry, how have you seen it grow and change?

I jumped into the wine industry as it was still growing and have seen it go though periods of ups and downs.  The seemingly never-ending growth has slowed, smaller wineries are being bought by larger companies and the industry has seen some challenges.  The last five years we’ve had to deal with changes in the economy, consumption and tourism decreases and environmental extremes with ever changing weather patterns (not to mention a worldwide pandemic).  The best way to survive has been to be continuously adaptable and learning. 

As Director of Farming at Phantom Creek Estates what does this role involve and what are you currently working on?

As Director of Farming at Phantom Creek, I oversee the entire viticulture program at each of our six vineyard sites (200 acres total) ensuring that our biodynamic and organic practices are executed as best as possible given the conditions of every growing season.  Challenges we are currently addressing are recovering from two successive winter freeze events in 2022 and 2024, which includes replanting or retraining many of our vines from the ground up.  We are also working every year to reduce our reliance on even our organic approved inputs, by building up soil health and our vineyard ecology to have it come into balance with nature (as much as possible on a commercial scale).

What new innovations or technologies do you think you will see in the future for the wine industry?

I think we are moving away from some of the new “advances” in agriculture, such as synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, but more towards how to we return to sustainable farming practices – some of which are a hundred years old.  I think where we can look to improve these practices is through automation in the vineyard.   Our industry is starting to use technology such as drones for mapping and precision applications, automated irrigation systems that communicate with weather stations and soil moisture sensors, and even autonomous tractors in our fields – while some of these technologies are further away than others, I believe that they will be more and more common place in agriculture. 

How do you stay connected to LFS and your alumni community?  

I’ve been fortunate to maintain a great relationship with my graduate supervisor (Dr. Vivien Measday) over the years and have met up with other UBC alumni at industry conferences as well.  Shortly after graduating from LFS, I was able to work with current students through Industry sponsored research projects, and more recently Phantom Creek has been involved in building relationships with UBC, in particular with LFS.  We have been in the early stages of working with the UBC Wine Research Centre and hope to see some research initiatives materialize in the near future. 

What advice would you give students and young alumni about building community and growing their networks?

This is something that I didn’t do well enough in my early years, and I would stress its importance to young alumni.  Community and network are just as important as your education and credentials.  Go to the networking events, reach out to people that are already working in your field, ask lots of questions and learn from the older generation along the way.

And finally, was your favourite hangout while studying at UBC? Your favourite place to eat? 

On campus I used to be a regular at Koerner’s Pub or Pie R Squared.  Off campus I spent many summers at Spanish Banks Beach, The University Golf Club (where I worked as well during the summers), and anywhere that I could find really good sushi in Vancouver.

Tagged with: Applied Biology