Certificate in Wine Studies from the Institute of Gastronomy

Students will receive exposure to to broad areas of wine knowledge. The faculty conists of the Institute's core teachers who have a true, lifelong love of wine and have studied in enjoyment and production first-hand throughout the world. They place wine within its culinary and cultural contexts. The wine faculty and curriculum trains students for the following competencies during the course of the program:

General

• World’s major grape species and Vitis vinifera grape varietals, including major characteristics of those varietals
• Most widely planted premium grape varietals in the United States, Canada, and Europe
• Process of fermentation
• Meaning of alcohol by volume and average range of alcohol by volume for standard table wines
• Meaning of fortify, residual sugar, filtration and fining
• Role of barrels and stainless steel in winemaking
• Main compounds that act as preservatives in wine
• Physical requirements for viticulture
• The concept of terroir
• The role of clones, scion, and rootstock
• Factors considered in planting a new vineyard
• How harvest decisions are critical to the final style and flavor of the wines
• World wine production trends, including the top productor countries in the world
• Europe's major wine regions, the wines produced in them and the grape varieties from which those wines are made
• Major New World wine regions, the wines produced in them and the grape varieties from which those wines are made

Wine Culture & History

• Students will gain an understanding of the basic history and cultural significance of wine in the western world
• An introduction to critical thinking about wine's place in elite culture
• An introduction to wine production in relation to ideas about sustainability, organics, and religion
• Wine's place within modern world culture

Sensory Analysis

• Students will develop a basic ability to describe and evaluate wine professionally, including assessing a wine's color, aroma, flavor, body, finish, and overall quality
• Describe the range of colors that exist in white and red wines
• Tell apart, with a good degree of accuracy, the major varietals/types of wine, in a blind tasting
• Assess, in a blind tasting, whether a wine is from the Old World or the New World and give reasons to support decision
• Differentiate, in blind tastings; between a barrel fermented wine from one that is fermented in tank and between young and older wines
• Identify TCA

Business and Practical Expertise

• Students will learn to read and decipher wine labels from all the major wine producing countries
• Understanding of correct wine service
• Importance of good wineglasses including the features of a good wine glass
• General markup for wine in a restaurant and in a retail store
• How to construct or improve a wine list

Wine and Food Comprehension and Pairing Skills

• Students will study the general principals behind successful and unsuccessful wine and food matches
• Concepts of complementary pairings and contrasting pairings
• Names of and principles behind several classic wine and food matches
• Ability to pair an appropriate single bottle of wine when different entrées are ordered from a restaurant menu

Acheiving the Certificate in Wine Studies will prepare one for a career involving serving, promoting, or writing about wine and is also a valuable base of knowledge for food professionals, including cooks, chefs, and other restaurant workers. Beyond merely being a technical course, the Certificate also gives the student the skills to think critically and reflexively about wine's place in the world.