OENOLOGY 3515WT - The Australian Wine Industry III:Rise of an Icon

Waite Campus - Winter - 2014

The Australian wine industry is internationally renowned for the innovative approaches that have made it a leading instigator of many `best-practices across the entire wine value chain, from grape growing, wine making to consumer satisfaction. This course will introduce the Australian wine industry and provide a broad understanding of the principles and practices of grape and wine production, and the sensory evaluation of wine. Students will be introduced to topics such as grapevine structure and anatomy, the annual growth cycle, vineyard management and operation, making of table, sparkling, fortified and dessert wines, sensory evaluation of wines, regional wine styles, and basic flavour chemistry of grapes and wine; emphasising aspects distinctive to the Australian wine industry. The course will comprise lectures and practical sessions, including a full day visit to a South Australian wine region. The course is aimed at students with an interest in wine but does not require in-depth scientific knowledge. This course involves teaching sessions that may be attended by both Undergraduate and Postgraduate students.

  • General Course Information
    Course Details
    Course Code OENOLOGY 3515WT
    Course The Australian Wine Industry III:Rise of an Icon
    Coordinating Unit School of Agriculture, Food and Wine
    Term Winter
    Level Undergraduate
    Location/s Waite Campus
    Units 3
    Contact Intensive
    Incompatible OENOLOGY 1018NW, OENOLOGY 1000NW/EX
    Course Description The Australian wine industry is internationally renowned for the innovative approaches that have made it a leading instigator of many `best-practices across the entire wine value chain, from grape growing, wine making to consumer satisfaction. This course will introduce the Australian wine industry and provide a broad understanding of the principles and practices of grape and wine production, and the sensory evaluation of wine. Students will be introduced to topics such as grapevine structure and anatomy, the annual growth cycle, vineyard management and operation, making of table, sparkling, fortified and dessert wines, sensory evaluation of wines, regional wine styles, and basic flavour chemistry of grapes and wine; emphasising aspects distinctive to the Australian wine industry. The course will comprise lectures and practical sessions, including a full day visit to a South Australian wine region. The course is aimed at students with an interest in wine but does not require in-depth scientific knowledge.
    This course involves teaching sessions that may be attended by both Undergraduate and Postgraduate students.
    Course Staff

    Course Coordinator: Professor Kerry Wilkinson

    Course Timetable

    The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

  • Learning Outcomes
    Course Learning Outcomes


    A successful student should be able to:

    1 Describe the history of the Australian wine industry.
    2 Describe the morphology, growth and development of the grapevine.
    3 Explain the seasonal cycle of growth of the grapevine.
    4 Describe the purpose and timing of key vineyard management practices/operations in
    Australia.
    5 Describe the changes that occur in the berry during ripening.
    6 Outline the processes of winemaking that occur before, during and after fermentation.
    7 Recognise important wine components and their influence on the aroma, flavour and taste of
    wine, and their contribution to Australian wine styles.
    8 Explain basic sensory processes and their application to technical wine evaluation.
    9 Explain basic principles of winemaking and describe the winemaking processes commonly
    practiced in Australia, from crushing of the grapes to the final packaging of
    the wine.



    University Graduate Attributes

    This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

    University Graduate Attribute Course Learning Outcome(s)
    Knowledge and understanding of the content and techniques of a chosen discipline at advanced levels that are internationally recognised. 1-9
    The ability to locate, analyse, evaluate and synthesise information from a wide variety of sources in a planned and timely manner. 2-6,9
    Skills of a high order in interpersonal understanding, teamwork and communication. 7
    A proficiency in the appropriate use of contemporary technologies. 1-9
    A commitment to continuous learning and the capacity to maintain intellectual curiosity throughout life. 2-6,9
    An awareness of ethical, social and cultural issues within a global context and their importance in the exercise of professional skills and responsibilities. 1-9
  • Learning Resources
    Required Resources
    There is no set textbook for this course. Required resources (including readings additional to lecture content) will be provided via MyUni.
    Recommended Resources
    Students who wish to undertake additional reading can purchase the following textbook directly from the publisher:Patrick Iland Wine Promotions (www.piwpwinebooks.com.au).

    Iland, P.G., Gago, P., Caillard, A. and Dry, P. (2009) A taste of the world of wine. Patrick Iland Wine Promotions, Adelaide.
    Online Learning
    This course uses MyUni to provide additional teaching materials (e.g. lecture notes, online tutorials, journal articles), past examination papers and other course information.Students should regularly access MyUni via the MyUni website (http://myuni.adelaide.edu.au/) for important course-related announcements.
  • Learning & Teaching Activities
    Learning & Teaching Modes
    This course comprises a theoretical component supported by a practical component (as below).

    The theoretical component will involve: an introductory lecture/tutorial  (2 hours); viticulture lectures (10 hours); oenology lectures (9 hours) and sensory lectures (3 hours). The practical component will involve wine sensory practicals (5 x 2 hours) designed to train students’ palates in wine sensory evaluation and differentiation of different Australian wine styles.

    Workload

    The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

    Students can expect this course to have a minimum workload of approximately 156 hours. This will include formal contact hours (i.e. lectures, practicals and the field trip), as well as study, reading and writing time and preparation for examinations.

    Learning Activities Summary
    The Rise of an Icon course comprises the following learning activities: 

    Lectures:
    o Sensory:
    The taste and olfactory system
    Taste and aroma interactions
    Sensory evaluation of wine

    o Viticulture:
    The grapevine and grapevine varieties
    Grapevine structure and function
    The annual growth cycle
    Grapevine physiology
    Berry development and composition
    Vineyard operations and management practices

    o Oenology:
    Wine styles and classifications
    Wine production (fermentation/table wine/sparkling wine/dessert wine)
    Oak maturation of wine
    Preparing wine for market (including packaging)

    Tutorials (online):
    Based on Viticulture and Oenology lecture content

    Practicals:
    Basic tastes and taste interactions
    White table wines
    Red table wines
    Sparkling wines
    Dessert/fortified wines
    Field trip to a South Australian wine region

    Specific Course Requirements
    Attendance at all practicals (including the Field Trip) is compulsory.
  • Assessment

    The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

    1. Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
    2. Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
    3. Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
    4. Assessment must maintain academic standards.

    Assessment Summary
    Assessment Task

    Type of assessment

    Percentage Weighting Hurdle
    Sensory Exam Summative 30% Yes
    Online Quiz Summative 10% No
    Written Assignment Summative 10% No
    Online Tutorials Formative 0% No
    Written Exam Summative 50% Yes
    Assessment Detail
    The online quizzes and written examination will assess students’ knowledge and comprehension of theory presented during the course and may consist of short-answer, true/false, matching and essay-type questions. Past examination papers are available as assessment exemplars and can be accessed via MyUni.

    The  assignment will assess student's ability to analyse, evaluate and synthesise information, including course content. The sensory examination will assess students’ ability to: (i) identify important wine attributes and their influence on the taste and smell of wine; and (ii) describe the appearance, smell and taste of different wine types and styles.

    To provide students with feedback on their understanding of and familiarity with the course material, a series of online tutorials will be made available via MyUni. Completion of these tutorials is entirely optional and assessments conducted within these tutorials are formative only (i.e. do not contribute to students’ final marks).
    Submission
    The assignment will need to be submitted as per instructions from the Course Coordinator.

    Late submission will result in a penalty of a 10% reduction in the mark achieved for each working day.
    Extensions will only be granted in exceptional circumstances. Students can expect to receive their results within two weeks of the due date/examination date (but typically earlier).
    Course Grading

    Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

    M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
    Grade Mark Description
    FNS   Fail No Submission
    F 1-49 Fail
    P 50-64 Pass
    C 65-74 Credit
    D 75-84 Distinction
    HD 85-100 High Distinction
    CN   Continuing
    NFE   No Formal Examination
    RP   Result Pending

    Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

    Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

    Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

  • Student Feedback

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    SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.

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  • Policies & Guidelines
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