Mar 29, 2024  
2018-2019 Course Catalog 
    
2018-2019 Course Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

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VIN 275 - Sensory Science

Credits: 4
Lecture Hours: 4
Lab Hours: 0
Practicum Hours: 0
Work Experience: 0
Course Type: Voc/Tech
This course presents applied information on wine sensory analysis to help students recognize personal sensory biases and evaluate wine types and styles critically and scientifically.
Prerequisite: MAT 157  and VIN 150  or instructor permission
Competencies
  1. Explain sensory analysis
    1. Define sensory stimuli
    2. Describe uses of sensory analysis
    3. Contrast wine characteristics including color, aroma, taste, and mouth-feel
  2. Summarize techniques for sensory evaluation of wines
    1. Discuss the order wines are to be served
    2. Explain desirable serving temperatures
    3. Describe recommended tasting technique including glass type, swirling the glass, in-mouth aeration, and rest period between samples
  3. Define factors contributing to a preferable environment to analyze wines
    1. Analyze panelist selection and variability
    2. Differentiate light sources and describe how sunlight, fluorescent lights, and red lights affect color perception
  4. Evaluate wine defects
    1. Identify oxidation in wine
    2. Identify microbiological faults including brettanomyces, acetic acid, and ethyl acetate
    3. Identify sulfur based defects including hydrogen sulfide and excess sulfur use
    4. Identify tri-chloroanisol (cork taint.)
  5. Differentiate aroma and bouquet
    1. Discuss odors comprising aroma
    2. Discuss odors comprising bouquet
    3. Evaluate ester odors
    4. Describe terpene based odors
    5. Explain how aroma and bouquet change during aging
    6. Utilize the wine aroma wheel and the sparkling wine aroma wheel
  6. Define wine type
    1. Identify the dominant characteristics of white wines including Riesling, Chardonnay, Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Hybrids, and American varieties
    2. Identify the dominant characteristics of red wines including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Hybrids, and Labrusca varieties
  7. Differentiate wine style from wine type
    1. Differentiate styles of Riesling, Chardonnay, Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Pinot Gris
    2. Differentiate styles of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, and Syrah
  8. Investigate the sense of taste.
    1. Discuss oral receptor cells and saliva?s role in sensation
    2. Identify taste buds and papillae.
    3. Locate areas of the tongue with main receptors for salt, sour, bitter, and sweet tastes
    4. Discuss umami and perception
    5. Describe how flavonoids and nonflavonoid polyphenolics affect flavor
    6. Identify bitter flavors
  9. Discuss the olfactory system
    1. Define olfactory epithelium, olfactory bulb, and olfactory cortex and discuss their role in sensory perception
    2. Summarize proximal and distal stimuli
    3. Discuss how odor concentration, temperature, and surface area affect stimuli perception
    4. Analyze categories and descriptions of odors
    5. Utilize the aroma wheel
  10. Summarize tactile sensations
    1. Evaluate how mechanoreceptors and thermoreceptors affect mouthfeel.
    2. Discuss viscosity and body.
    3. Summarize the mouthfeel affects of effervescence and astringency.
    4. Identify how flavonoid and nonflavonoid polyphenolics affect mouthfeel
    5. Describe how flavonoid polymerization affects tactile sensation
    6. Identify astringent mouthfeel
  11. Evaluate chemesthesis as it relates to sensory analysis
    1. Identify how primary wine components like ethanol and sulfur dioxide affect this sense
    2. Discuss how carbonation and acidity affect chemesthesis
    3. Summarize the main receptors for this sense 
  12. Explain the sense of sight.
    1. Differentiate the cones and rods receptor cells
    2. Evaluate wine clarity
    3. Discuss color perception and wavelength
  13. Utilize statistics to evaluate the tasting session
    1. Review terms of probability, null hypothesis, bell curve, and significance
    2. Identify tests for evaluating wines including the duo test, duo-trio test, and triangle test
  14. Evaluate personal tasting limitations and strengths
    1. Define detection, recognition, and differential thresholds.
    2. Evaluate recognition threshold of salt, sweet, bitter, and acid
  15. Summarize factors negatively affecting wine analysis
    1. Discuss olfactory fatigue
    2. Describe contrast errors
    3. Review flawed analysis due to susceptibility to external suggestion
    4. Explain methods to minimize the aforementioned faults



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