Internships and Study trips

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Internships and Professional practice

During the 2 years of the curricula, you will have continuous opportunities of practical work.  Each university has facilities in order to teach wine sensory analysis, chemistry, or plant biology.  Research labs are also available for experimentations.

Thanks to the large Vinifera international network you will have plenty of offers of internships.

  • Semester 1 and 2 (M1)

    To begin the academic year, you are invited to the experimental centre of INRA Pech Rouge. You will harvest with the researchers and Vinifera teachers during this orientation week.  You will work in the cellar in order to acquire some basic professional skills. Activities are organised to help you get to know the other students in a friendly atmosphere, where you will be in accommodation near the Mediterranean sea.  For the rest of the year you will follow modules in all topics important to the wine industry.  You can find a sample calendar of the year at the bottom of this page.

  • Summer between M1 and M2

    At the end of June, you can do an optional internship until the M2 begins. The Consortium will support you in your search for internship and will provide an agreement to cover this professional period. In the Northern hemisphere, this 4-month period can be separated into 2 internships: one in the vineyard during summer, and a second period for wine-making during harvest time.

  • Semester 3 (M2)

    During the first semester at your M2 university, you will follow academic courses.

    The exception is for the University of Turin where the academic semester begins in January. You will therefore need to prepare your Master thesis in the six months before arriving in Turin. You can choose to complete a 6-month internship in a lab, a company or a winery, in Italy, in Europe or in any wine region in the world, under the supervision of your Italian tutor.

  • Semester 4 (M2)

    During the second semester of your M2 (except in Torino where it is inversed), you will have to do your Master thesis.  You will complete a 6-month internship in a lab, a company or a winery, in Italy, in Europe or in any wine region in the world, under the supervision of your M2 university tutor.

Study trips and Visits

The Vinifera programme is the perfect place to meet a lot of professionals from different wine producing areas.  Visits are offered in most modules of the M1.

Semester 1

  • one week at INRA Pech Rouge during the orientation week
  • a one-day Terroir field trip organised by the “Syndicat de l’AOP” Languedoc in order to discover the wines of the Montpellier region
  • visits to the IFV research centre and Vassal grape variety collection during the Vine Biology module
  • a one-day trip in Roussillon to study “Fortified Wines VDN” during the Economics module
  • visit to the international SITEVI exhibition in Montpellier (every 2 years)…
  • time free in the timetable to visit Prowein in Germany

orientation week

harvest at INRA Pech Rouge

study trip in Japan

visit at IFV ENTAV

Sitevi exhibition visit

cooperage visit

study trip in Swiss & Burgundy

visit cork factory

study trip in Cava

study trip in Champagne

“Rosé” Visit at St Tropez

Study trip Cognac

Semester 2

  • one-day wine-making field trip during the Wine Processing module (visit to Pera company at Pézenas)
  • a one- day visit at Domaine du Chapitre, an estate belonging to Montpellier SupAgro
  • participation in the international tasting competition of the CGA Paris (module of Wine Analysis)
  • a one-week study trip to discover one specific European vineyard (Burgundy, Cognac, Champagne, Cava and Priorat, Porto …)
  • Bordeaux vineyard and estate visits in the context of the module “Terroir and Company Auditing”

Semester 3 and 4 (M2)

A complementary programme of visits is also included in the M2 programmes according to your choice of country and modules.