Wine Fundamentals: Viticulture and Winemaking

This foundational module introduces students to the classification of wine, wine styles, and wine regions. Students will learn about basic sensory processes and their application to wine evaluation, understanding key wine components and their influence on appearance, aroma, flavor, taste, and mouthfeel properties. The module covers Odour Activity Value concepts, varietal characteristics of different white and red cultivars, and develops skills in evaluating and communicating wine sensory attributes using appropriate descriptive terminology.

This module provides comprehensive understanding of grapevine biology and development. Students will learn about the structure, growth, and development of grapevines, including identification of different structural components of shoots, leaves, and bunches. The module explains the seasonal cycle of grapevine growth, factors influencing crop yield, and important considerations for selecting appropriate sites for grapevine cultivation.

This module focuses on vineyard management practices and grape development processes. Students will learn the objectives of key vineyard management practices, understand differences between spur and cane pruning techniques, and explore physical and compositional changes during berry development and ripening. The module covers maturity and quality assessment during ripening, comparison of hand versus mechanical harvesting advantages and disadvantages, and methods for measuring vine performance.

This module explores the fundamental processes involved in making different styles of wine. Students will learn about pressing, crushing, and draining processes, contrasting winemaking techniques for red and white wines. The module covers the impact of skin contact during red winemaking, alcoholic and malolactic fermentation processes, fermentation monitoring parameters, wine component origins and their sensory impacts, and clarification and stabilization processes.

This module covers advanced winemaking processes including maturation, blending, and packaging. Students will learn how wine maturation is undertaken, the purpose of blending wine, and processes involved in bottling. The module explores the influence of different packaging materials on wine quality, methods for incorporating oak components into winemaking, and identification of various sources of taint compounds in wine and their sensory impact.

This capstone module demonstrates how research addresses issues of interest to grape growers and winemakers. Students will develop understanding of how scientific research can be used to solve problems in viticulture and winemaking, and learn about facilities and functions within commercial wineries. The module provides comprehensive overview of the scientific foundations underlying grape growing and wine production practices.