{"id":93879,"date":"2024-06-14T12:13:46","date_gmt":"2024-06-14T16:13:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=93879"},"modified":"2024-06-18T16:29:28","modified_gmt":"2024-06-18T20:29:28","slug":"ccovi-grads-grow-roots-careers-in-canadian-grape-and-wine-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2024\/06\/ccovi-grads-grow-roots-careers-in-canadian-grape-and-wine-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"CCOVI grads grow roots, careers in Canadian grape and wine industry"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Andr\u00e9anne H\u00e9bert-Hach\u00e9 (BSc \u201916, PhD ’24) began her time at Brock, she was looking to sow seeds of curiosity around grape and wine science.<\/p>\n

Then a sommelier, her passion for wine brought her to the University\u2019s renowned Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute<\/a> (CCOVI) and Department of Biological Sciences.<\/p>\n

Through the years, her knowledge of and connections to the grape and wine industry would not only grow but thrive.<\/p>\n

H\u00e9bert-Hach\u00e9 crossed the stage at Brock\u2019s 115th Convocation<\/a> on Friday, June 14 with her PhD in Biological Sciences \u2014 along with a successful career in her field.<\/p>\n

With in-depth experience at CCOVI under her belt, she was able to secure a full-time position with Mirabel Agri-Food Research Centre in Qu\u00e9bec before even defending her thesis.<\/p>\n

After earning her undergraduate degree in Oenology and Viticulture, following a fourth-year honours thesis project with CCOVI researcher Wendy McFadden-Smith, H\u00e9bert-Hach\u00e9 moved on to a master\u2019s degree specializing in Plant Sciences and Oenology Viticulture with Biological Sciences Assistant Professor Jim Willwerth and CCOVI Director Debbie Inglis as her supervisors.<\/p>\n

Fuelled by a thirst for knowledge, H\u00e9bert-Hach\u00e9 later transferred into the PhD program, during which she would go on to earn international acclaim<\/a> for her grapevine cold hardiness research.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

Hannah Charnock (PhD ’24) graduated Friday, June 14 with her PhD in Biological Sciences specializing in Plant Sciences and Oenology Viticulture.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cOnce my experiments were complete, and it was time to write, my husband Cameron Green and I decided it was the right time to have our first child,\u201d she said. \u201cIt is a huge question for any woman trying to balance career and family, and it worked for us. So, while the baby napped, I wrote.\u201d<\/p>\n

H\u00e9bert-Hach\u00e9 said her success would not have been possible without the support of Inglis, Willwerth and, of course, Green.<\/p>\n

\u201cThroughout my research, Debbie and the entire academic team were extremely supportive of my desire to return to Montr\u00e9al and my personal ambitions of helping further develop the Qu\u00e9bec cool climate wine industry,\u201d she said. \u201cDebbie introduced me to a number of industry individuals, and before I was to defend my thesis, let alone graduate, I was already working in my field.\u201d<\/p>\n

H\u00e9bert-Hach\u00e9 is far from alone in her CCOVI success.<\/p>\n

Hannah Charnock (PhD ’24) was drawn to the Institute by its acclaimed research.<\/p>\n

She would soon after find herself to be among CCOVI\u2019s award-winning student researchers.<\/p>\n

Charnock, who graduated Friday with her PhD in Biological Sciences with a specialization in Plant Sciences and Oenology Viticulture, uncovered a profound interest in fermentation science while earning her undergraduate degree in chemistry. She began her CCOVI journey as a master\u2019s student before pursuing her doctorate.<\/p>\n

\u201cWorking with my supervisors Gary Pickering and Belinda Kemp was an outstanding and rigorous opportunity,\u201d Charnock said. \u201cEven with the challenges of grad school and the restrictions of the early days in the pandemic, I had a fabulous time and felt my education was streamlined to maximize industry connections and emphasize learning opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n

During her time with CCOVI, Charnock took home the top prize at the Canadian Food Summit\u2019s Three Minute Thesis competition<\/a> (2022) and was Brock\u2019s first student to win an American Society for Enology and Viticulture medal for Best Student Video Presentation<\/a> (2020). She capped off her PhD by doing a sparkling wine harvest in the U.K. and experiencing cool climate winemaking beyond England by attending conferences in Europe and America.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile it was not easy conducting PhD research during the pandemic restrictions, the support and encouragement from the CCOVI administration was exceptional,\u201d Charnock said. \u201cThrough digital networking and leveraging of connections, we went so far as to even meet the cellar manager of the Queen of England.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is due to the education and people I\u2019ve met that I\u2019m stepping out into the world of possibilities and entertaining a few career opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

Alex Gunn (BSc \u201919, MSc ’24), who graduated with her Master of Science with a specialization in Plant Science, Viticulture and Oenology, continues her grapevine cold hardiness work as a Research Assistant with Jim Willwerth, a researcher in Brock\u2019s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute.<\/p><\/div>\n

Also excited to see what the future holds is Alex Gunn (BSc \u201919, MSc ’24), who graduated Friday with her Master of Science with a specialization in Plant Science, Viticulture and Oenology.<\/p>\n

Gunn\u2019s time at Brock began with an undergraduate degree in Oenology and Viticulture, during which she wrote her honours thesis under the supervision of Willwerth, who would also go on to become her master\u2019s supervisor. She has since gone on to become a CCOVI Research Assistant.<\/p>\n

\u201cCCOVI and its researchers have been so incredibly supportive. They\u2019ve empowered each of us to become the best version of ourselves,\u201d Gunn said. \u201cWith the support from the Institute\u2019s researchers being tied directly to cool climate research, I\u2019ve connected with organizations and research institutes across Canada. As a Research Assistant, I am in the field directly applying my education and continually learning through the multiple projects we are undertaking. My successes are intrinsically tied to CCOVI.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Andr\u00e9anne H\u00e9bert-Hach\u00e9 (BSc ’16) began her time at Brock, she was looking to sow seeds of curiosity around grape and wine science.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":93881,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[119,188,55,41,1],"tags":[3630,61,156,855,3746,3457,727,1278,7440,1874,1759,13608,10545],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93879"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93879"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93879\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":94040,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93879\/revisions\/94040"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/93881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93879"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93879"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93879"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}