During this summer, eight inmates joined the CRI team. From countries such as Portugal, Italy and the United States, as well as Chile, students will develop their theses related to the different projects and supervised by the CRI’s professionals.

Marissa Reyes comes from California, has a Master’s Degree in Enology and Viticulture and has experience in France and Spain. Like four other foreign interns, she traveled to Chile to do her thesis at Concha y Toro´s Center for Research and Innovation (CRI). In total there are eight new interns – five foreigners and three Chileans – who will work as researchers at the center, working on the different projects developed there.

From this summer until the months of July and August, the interns will work with CRI´s professionals, who will guide them in their theses during this educational experience. Each one will develop a specific and different topic related to the R & D projects that are carried out in the center.

“I hope to gain experience on the implementation of new methods of analysis in the wine industry, and learn more about the wine quality markers. I’m also very interested in seeing how the experimental wine cellar works”, Marissa explains.

For Francesco Guidi, Italian and International Master (MSc) Vintage, École Supérieure d’Agriculture d’Angers, the CRI represents a new way of approaching the production of wines. “For me, considering my European background, it was completely new that a winemaker could turn to his own research center for scientific support”, says Francesco.

One of the investigations that will be carried out will be in charge of Caterina Leal, Portuguese and master in Engineering of Viticulture and Enology. She will develop her thesis focusing on the strategic program “Strengthening plant material”, evaluating the effect of different strains of the fungus Trichoderma spp. for disease control of the vine wood.

Camila Uribe, Civil-Chemical Engineer from the Pontifica Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, is one of the Chilean interns who will join the team. In the CRI, she will develop his thesis on “Optimization of the alcoholic fermentation process through the use of computer simulation in winemaking.”

For Camila, this is not only a great academic opportunity, but also an enriching personal experience: “Here, we share with people from different cultures, which promotes professional development and soft skills”.