#11: Wine Sensory Analysis
Instructed by Dr. Federico Casassa at California Polytechnic State University
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Should you take a course designed for would-be sommeliers? If you are a student at Cal Poly, the answer is: wine not!
Well… technically, the answer is yes. The course in question, Wine Sensory Analysis, is a mandatory class for students within the university’s Wine and Viticulture Department. Dr. Federico Casassa, who teaches both Wine Sensory Analysis and the more difficult Advanced Wine Sensory Analysis, is an expert in the grape field: in addition to holding a Doctorate in Wine Chemistry & Sensory Analysis, he’s worked within the winemaking industry for ten years.
Wine Sensory Analysis
School: California Polytechnic State University
Course: Wine Sensory Analysis
Instructor: Dr. Federico Casassa
Course Description:
Evaluation of wines using the techniques in sensory evaluation. Difference and rating tests; descriptive analysis and pairing of wine and food
Ask the Instructor: Dr. Federico Casassa
Why did you elect to offer this course at Cal Poly this year?
This is not an election. The WVIT department of cal poly offers WVIT 442, Wine Sensory Analysis, as a required, core class of its curriculum. We offer 3 concentration within the wine industry: viticulture, enology and wine business. The students of the three concentrations are required to sit and pass the class. In addition to this class, I have developed an advanced version of this class named Advanced Wine Sensory Analysis, WVIT 477.
What do you ultimately hope that your students take away from participating in Sensory Evaluation of Wine?
Students that successfully pass the class are equipped with the following skills:
- The ability to describe a wine from a sensory standpoint, using professional terms that are for the most part, objective and not subjective
- The ability to recognize the main varieties, regions and wine styles available;
- The ability to talk and write professionally about wine, making inferences about varieties, processing techniques, styles and regions
- The ability to interpret scientific literature on the various aspects of wine sensory analysis and wine in general
- The ability to understand the underlying physical, physiological and psychological basis of wine perception and all the aspects of the interface wine/human sensory systems.
If you could teach a course on any topic at all, what would it be?
I like to teach a variety of courses, but Wine Sensory Analysis, the way I teach it, would be my preferred one. Many students come to Wine being very intimidated by it, but they leave the class feeling self-assured and confident in their wine knowledge. That’s pretty neat to see as a professor, how students progress from being intimidated by the product to being able to describe and interact with wine in a very professional way.
NEXT: #10: Occultism, Postcoloniality, and Modernism
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