Course Spotlight- Fundamentals of Wine
METML 649 A1, Fundamentals of Wine will be taught this spring by Ara Sarkissian, CWE and will meet on Mondays from 6 to 8:45pm
For students without previous knowledge of wine, this introductory survey explores the world of wine through discussions, tastings, food and wine pairing, assigned readings, and student presentations. By the end of the course, students will be able to exhibit fundamental knowledge of the principal categories of wine, including major grape varieties, wine styles, and regions; correctly taste and classify wine attributes; and demonstrate an understanding of general principles of food and wine pairing.
[4 credits; $325 lab fee]
To learn more, we touched base with the course instructor, Ara Sarkissian.
- What is the aim of this course? What kind of student is it for?
“This is for students with little or no background in wine; people who have not necessarily taken any wine classes beyond ‘wine appreciation’ type of classes, which this is NOT. It’s for students curious about learning more about wine; how it’s made, how various styles of wine are produced, what the most widespread types of wines are on marketplace, and how to approach food and wine pairings.”
- What skills/knowledge do you hope students will leave the course with?
“Students will learn about various styles and categories of wine, and taste them in class. Both well known and more esoteric wines will be explored. Students will leave the class with more confidence to speak about wine, order wine in restaurants, and build upon the foundations that this class teaches. The food/wine pairing classes throughout the semester will allow students to develop their own strategies to pairing wine with food.”
- What topic/unit are you most excited to teach?
“The food and wine pairings are very special, combining the culinary aspect of the Food Studies program with the wine curriculum. This allows students to develop confidence experientially through tasting food items and various wines in class along with their peer students.”
- What else should students know?
“There will be three hour sessions each on sparkling wines, dessert/late harvest wines, fortified wines, as well as wines from lesser known wine regions. This is a differentiator as most wine studies focus on only mainstream, well known regions.”