Dennis Bergamo is the first to graduate in Viticulture and Oenology from C3A, the Agriculture, food, environment center, the institution created by the University of Trento and Fondazione Edmund Mach.
He will turn 22 next October, is from San Giacomo (Bolzano, Italy), and earned his degree with top marks last Thursday.
He wrote his dissertation under the supervision of professors Christian von Wallbrunn and Fulvio Mattivi, respectively from the Hochschule Geisenheim and C3A of the University of Trento.
He defended his dissertation at the Hochschule Geisenheim University (in Germany), where he moved for the third year of his studies.
Dennis managed to achieve a very ambitious goal: to successfully complete the double degree programme in Viticulture and Oenology within the timeframe required, earning both the Italian and the German qualifications.
This achievement was crowned by the Karl-Bayer-Preis 2019 for the best dissertation in the double degree programme within the Italian-German collaboration, which was presented to Dennis Bergamo on Friday in Geisenheim during the ceremony for the end of the semester.
His dissertation focused on the role of genetic engineering in the creation of the fruity aroma in slightly aged white wine. The work, “Influence of the HXT7 promoter on ester production by Saccharomyces cerevisiae during wine fermentation”, examined the factors that can facilitate the production of a particular type of fermentation aromas (esters), which are formed from the reaction of acids and alcohols.
Many other students are about to complete their studies: after the third year of courses, they are working for the summer round of exams and will take the final exam in September in order to graduate.
The press release in the download box includes comments by Dennis Bergamo, Massimo Bertamini (head of the programme), Rector Paolo Collini and Andrea Segrè (president of Fondazione Mach).
About the degree programme
The degree programme in Viticulture and Oenology was established in 2017 by the Center for Agriculture, food, environment (C3A) of the University of Trento and Fondazione Edmund Mach. The programme in Viticulture and Oenology (disciplinary area of "Sciences and technologies in agriculture and forestry") has an intake of 75 students and is based in San Michele all'Adige.
The course focuses in particular on sustainable agriculture and mountain viticulture, adopts an experimental approach (so that students are involved in many activities in laboratories, in field and in the cellar, thanks to the many facilities of FEM) and has an international dimension based on double degree agreements and bilateral cooperation to promote internships in other countries.
The programme aims to provide students with knowledge (from mathematics and physics to plant pathology and food chemistry, to rural economics and land management, including computer science and English) and skills that are highly valuable on the labour market. Viticulture and oenology graduates (oenologists) will have the instruments required to work in the production of grapes while being aware of environmental sustainability and soil protection. They will have acquired knowledge in grape processing, the production of wine and other grape products, quality control, and in the management of the entire process. Career opportunities for graduates are in the publishing sector of wine-related publications, hotels and restaurants, research.