HB 409 Intro to Wine Syllabus Instructor: Carl P.

Borchgrevink
Office Phone: 517-884-1583 Office Address: 233 Eppley Center E-mail: carlb@bus.msu.edu

Required Text:
The University Wine Course by Marian W. Baldy, Ph.D. Published by the Wine Appreciation Guild

Course Description
Introduction to wine with emphasis on primary varietals and blends, legal nomenclature, classes of wine, and wine production. The sensory impact of select vineyard and winery practices will be introduced, as will the potential health implications of wine consumption and some sociocultural and historical facts as they relate to wine. The concept of wine and food matching and some relevant tools/approaches for wine and food matching will be considered.

Course Objectives
1. Remove any fear of wine. 2. Develop an understanding and appreciation of primary varietals and blends. 3. Familiarize yourself with the various classes of wine and their production. 4. Start to understand the potential health and social impacts of wine consumption, appreciating the benefit of moderate wine consumption, should one choose to consume wine. 5. Be able to decipher wine labels and wine lists. 6. Start to understand the potential sensory implications of consuming wine with food. 7. Understand that there is significant interpersonal variation in sensory thresholds and personal preferences, and that said variation will impact individual gustation differently.

Course Requirements
Upon completion of a/each chapter/lecture, take the chapter/lecture test. The chapter tests are progressive in that you will need to obtain a score of 80% or higher to take the subsequent chapter test. If you attempt to take a test and the server asks for a password, this is typically due to not having scored 80% on the previous test. While the course software occasionally requires me to personally grade a test, delaying your potential progress, this is typically an error, and I would appreciate you making me aware of such a delay. Please note that I will not remove the 80% limit or provide passwords to you as semester end nears. Please plan and study accordingly.

Course Prerequisites
None

Tentative Schedule
As you are studying "independently", there is no date-specific schedule. None-the-less, the following chronological order is assigned. That is, while you determine the speed at which you proceed, I have determined the order of study, and the intent is for you to have completed all assignments by the end of the semester in which you are enrolled. ----------------------------------Lecture One: Wine and Health, Wine in History, Wine and Culture, and Serving Alcohol Safely Read Chapter 1 ----------------------------------Lecture Two: Varietals Read Appendix A ----------------------------------Lecture Three: Laws and Labels Read Appendix B ----------------------------------Lecture Four: Sensory Evaluations Read Chapter 2 ----------------------------------Lecture Five: White Table Wine Production Read Chapter 3 ----------------------------------Lecture Six: Sensory Evaluation of White Table Wines Read Chapter 4 ----------------------------------Lecture Seven: Red Table Wine Production Read Chapter 5 ----------------------------------Lecture Eight: Sensory Evaluation of Red Table Wine Read Chapter 6 ----------------------------------Lecture Nine: Sparkling Wine Production (Producing Wine with Stars) Read Chapter 7 ----------------------------------Lecture Ten: Sensory Evaluation of Sparkling Wine Read Chapter 8 ----------------------------------Lecture Eleven: The Production of Dessert Wines Read Chapter 9 ----------------------------------Lecture Twelve: Sensory Evaluation of Dessert Wines Read Chapter 10 ----------------------------------Lesson Thirteen: Great Wines are made in the Vineyard Read Chapter 11 ----------------------------------Lesson Fourteen: Wine and Food Read Appendix C -----------------------------------

FINAL EXAM: Please see course news or emails for place and location. The exam is NOT open book, and can only be taken once. If you are ready for the exam two or more weeks prior to our scheduled exam, please get in touch with me to see if we can schedule and early opportunity for you to sit for the exam! Please note that I am not guaranteeing that an early exam slot will be available. If the final is approaching, and you find that you are not ready, this would also be reason to contact me. -----------------------------------

Grading Policy
Grades will be determined according to the average percentage achieved, using the following grading scale: 95% or above 90.0%-94.9% 85.0%-89.9% 80.0%-84.9% 75.0%-79.9% 70.0%-74.9% 65.0%-69.9% Less than 65.0% = = = = = = = = 4.0 3.5 3.0 2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.0

Complete the chapter/lecture tests at your convenience, but the intent is for you to have all the tests completed by the end of the semester. You may take the tests up to ten (10) times. Your highest chapter/lecture score will be added to/retained in the grade book. The lecture tests are set up so that you must score 80% or higher to progress to the next test. You can only sit for the exam once.

Your points are available as follows:

100 points for Chapter/Lecture Tests 100 points for Final Exam 200 points Total Base Score Potential

Attendance Policy
This Introduction to Wine class is taught as a virtual course with virtual lectures and chapter tests, rather than as a typical independent study in which you are more-or-less "on your own." Thus you "attend to" class as you wish.

Academic Integrity
The Eli Broad College of Business Honor Code: http://broad.msu.edu/undergraduate/academics/honorcode

Approach
a) Study the entire text, including the appendices. b) Each chapter contains some review questions as well as answers to the review questions. Use this as you see fit to learn the material. Many of your quiz questions originated here.

c) From chapter 4 onward the author suggests a number of sensory evaluation exercises. While sensory assessments may enhance your learning they are not a grade consideration, and should be skipped unless you are of legal drinking age. For that reason I have removed this content from the lectures you can, however, find it in the appropriate chapter. d) If you are comfortable with the material in the book several weeks prior to the end of the term, contact me and we will seek to find a time for you to sit for the exam. e) The exam will consist of 100 questions drawn from the text and the instructors' guide. In the case of the exams, there will be "right" answers. As I am not lecturing to you, I will use the authors questions rather than question written by me, as I do not wish to run the risk of confusing matters with the introduction of potentially alternate language. The review questions after each chapter will be most helpful in preparing for the exam. Please note that you will most likely see question formats on the final exam that you have not seen as part of the chapter end tests, or that questions from the chapter end review sections may be re-written to fit a different format. All potential question content can, however, be found in the chapter review questions.