If programs such as WSET, CSS, CSW, MS, MW as well as travel are in the realm of the social sciences, what about college and university classes? There are universities offering degrees in oenology. Now many colleges and community colleges in wine regions are also offering courses. Two years ago, I decided to take an online class in winemaking through Washington State University. This past year I took another course on sensory evaluation. It didn’t take long, minutes, to realize that these courses were in the disciplines of science and math. Looking at a formula for increasing a wine’s acidity or reducing a wine’s acidity leads to a comment, “There should be an app for this.” Most of the time there are apps for the math part of winemaking, or winemakers who know how to use Excel.

I started the winemaking class in the spring and decided to put it off until the late summer. WSU gives you a year to complete the online version of the class. During the fall of 2009, I had two opportunities to make wine, one was at Vint Hill Craft Winery in Virginia, the other at Tin Lizzie Wineworks in Maryland. The online course made more sense when I could actually take part in what was being taught. I followed more of the scientific method when blending a Cabernet Sauvignon and Tannat than I would have if these classes didn’t influence me.

Working in a winery provides a pathway to learning. Although my first task was to clean and paint a floor, I also gained experience in other tasks such as measuring quantities of enzymes and fermentation tannins to add to the must in a fermentation bin. Over the year, I learned much about making the wines I had in barrels at these two wineries. During the WSET class there was never any mention of bladder presses exploding and covering those in the line of fire with wine; an event worth experiencing.

Taking college level courses offers yet another path to learning about wine. Were the winemaking course and sensory evaluation course through Washington State University enough to qualify me as a certified wine writer? Were experiences in winemaking at Vint Hill Craft Winery and Tin Lizzie Wineworks enough to qualify me as a certified wine writer?

All of these courses, classes, programs and experiences add to wine knowledge and enhance one’s writing. If certification were ever developed for wine writers, it would need to take into account the many roads that lead to wine knowledge.

Cheers,
Terry