The University Wine Course
These online lectures deal in-depth with service aspects of wine. The lectures also aim to hone professional tasting skills and impart an original take on wine and food alchemy. The course is particularly beneficial to those involved in wholesales of beverages and the retailing of wines as well as chefs, restaurateurs, wine waiting staff and sommeliers.
REQUIREMENTS, TOPICS and COURSE CONTENT
Besides a fair knowledge of English and some basic computer skills, there are no other entrance requirements. Participants must be minimum 17 years of age.
Lectures have been carefully embedded into a well-considered pedagogical framework. The course is tutored online by Georges Meekers, Malta's award-winning member to the Circle of Wine Writers (UK). The course starts immediately (48 hrs) after signing up. The course fee does not include any possible expenses for the wines to be sampled.
These 15 online lessons are supported by several resources such as video clips, podcasts, interactive wine maps, grape glossaries, extra reading material, interaction with fellow students, quizzes, short assignments and home wine tasting tasks.
This course is self-paced and may be completed within up to 6 months from commencement. Successful candidates will be awarded the coveted certificate.
In this course you will be exposed to:
PROFESSIONAL TASTING TECHNIQUES
Learn professional tasting techniques and evaluation, including the key factors that make great wine great and, yes, not so great at all. Acquire a comprehensive wine vocabulary of professional tasting terms, and learn to put your sensory impressions and evaluation of a wine into words.
WINE STYLES
Learn about wine's different styles and examine the characters of the world’s top classic varieties, in particular Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Sauvignon, and of several more of the world’s top classic grapes and explore their histories and food compatibilities, specifically, Zinfandel, the aromatic whites (Riesling, Viognier, Muscat and Gewürztraminer), and the leading Rhône varietals (Syrah, Mourvèdre, and Grenache).
OENOLOGICAL PRACTICES
Understand the impact that key oenological decisions and techniques have on the flavours and style of sweet, fortified and sparkling wines.
AGING GRACEFULLY
Some like them young, some prefer them more mature. Now that even powerfully tannic wines are approachable at an early age, the question about when to enjoy a wine at its peak, needs to be re-evaluated. In this fascinating tasting we will look at world-class wines at different stages of evolution, from barrel samples to over three decades old reds.
THE OAK FACTOR
New oak or used oak? French or American? Barriques or big casks? Long barrel aging or shorter? Wine aficionados face these questions with increasing frequency. We will discuss the impact of oak, its age and provenance, in the making of a wine. We will look at similar wines that get different oak treatment to allow us to extract informed conclusions.
QUEST FOR TERROIR
Terroir, that magical combination of soil, climate and grape varieties, is one of the most elusive terms in the wine world. But the wines that can fully express it, result in some of the most complex and minerally laden ones, transcending the impact of their varieties and human touch. With the return to a more traditional and non-interventionist viticulture in the last decade, the expression of unique terroirs has become the holy grail of winemakers around the world. We will investigate this concept.
Subscribing to this critically acclaimed wine course gives you direct access to Georges Meekers who will be mentoring you on a one-on-one basis over the Internet.This is a most invaluable course to learn how to give your own, personal opinion about a glass of wine.