COD offers Wine Appreciation and Knowledge Certificate

The new Wine Appreciation and Knowledge certificate at College of DuPage will provide students with an in-depth look at wines through lectures and tastings.

Recently approved by the Illinois Community College Board, the certificate consists of four classes for a total of eight credit hours. Chris Thielman, coordinator of the Culinary and Hospitality

Management program, said the timing is ideal, now that wine industry consultants Gomberg, Fredrickson & Associates have announced that the U.S. has surpassed France as the largest wine-consuming nation in the world.

“Clearly more and more Americans are enjoying wine,” he said. “We looked at what other colleges were doing and designed our curriculum to follow the current trends on how wine appreciation is taught. The new certificate is ideal for both community members and people who are interested in a career as a sommelier.”

The first three classes in the certificate are “Wine Regions of the World I,” which examines wines from Italy, Spain, Portugal, Australia and New Zealand; “Wine Regions of the World II,” which addresses wines from France, Germany and South America; and “Wine Regions of the World,” which looks at wines from around the U.S. Each class will study the influences and techniques that impact the aroma, flavor and style of wine.

The fourth class, “Wine and Food Pairing,” will be taught in the culinary amphitheater in the new Culinary & Hospitality Center at College of DuPage. The amphitheater features a full demonstration kitchen and tiered lecture seating that includes special built-in light features that students will use when examining wine. Thielman said the only other college with a space like this is the Culinary Institute of America in Greystone, Calif.

“With the demonstration kitchen, students and instructors can make something simple, like sautéed scallops, and see how it tastes with several wines to determine how well they blend together,” he said.

The new Wine Appreciation and Knowledge Certificate also is the first step toward revamping the Culinary and Hospitality Management program's beverage management certificates, Thielman said. Students who complete the new certificate will be eligible to sit for a sommelier certification exam.

But Thielman also believes community members who simply have an interest in wine will enjoy these four courses.

“This certificate is unique and special, something you're not going to find elsewhere,” he said. “The new building allows us to create exciting programs, and we look forward to the community taking advantage of them.”

For more information, call (630) 942-2720 or email thielman@cod.edu.