Cal Poly Teams with Beringer On Wine and Food Course

Dana Nigro
Posted: May 11, 1999

California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, in conjunction with Beringer Wine Estates, will be offering a new certificate program for wine and food professionals and educators. The course material will also be integrated into the university's new wine minor for undergraduate students.

The five-day program will cover wine marketing, wine education and wine and food pairing. The curriculum has been developed by former Beringer executive Tim Hanni, who holds a Master of Wine degree, and Bob Noyes, professor of food science at Cal Poly.

The core of the course is an examination of the sensory interactions between wine and food, including a hands-on kitchen workshop that demonstrates balanced wine and food matches. Participants will also learn the principles behind the Beringer Progressive Wine List System, a method of grouping wines by their basic taste profiles (instead of by geographic region or varietal) to make it easier for customers to understand and order wines. Much of the program focuses on a re-creation of the business of starting a winery and marketing the wine; students will learn about viticulture and vinification and develop a wine and food promotion that is presented to the class.

According to Hanni, the program is targeted at university instructors, culinary schools, wine distributorships, hotel chains, food production companies, food scientists, vintners and others within the wine trade. Upon successful completion, students will receive a certificate from Cal Poly's College of Agriculture authorizing them to teach the program in their own businesses. Noyes added that the curriculum will also be incorporated into Cal Poly's new undergraduate wine minor, which covers viticulture, agricultural management, marketing and food science.

The first certificate program, limited to 20 students, will be held June 21 through 25 at the university's San Luis Obispo campus. A second program will be offered August 23 through 27. The $1,500 program fee includes accommodations, most meals and local transportation. For more information, contact Tim Hanni at (707) 255-8333 or hannit@bwecorp.com.

To learn more about Tim Hanni's principles for food and wine matching:

July 31, 1997
The Fifth Element