JANUARY 16, 2023.  BY LODI WINEGRAPE COMMISSION.

 

San Joaquin Delta College, a junior/community college headquartered in Stockton, CA, recently announced two new wine courses offered this Spring: Cul Art 32 Evaluation of Wine and Cul Art 85 Wine Regions of California.

Fred Swan tasting wine, by Randy Caparoso.

Both courses are taught by Fred Swan DWSET, CSW, a respected educator, sommelier, and wine writer. An associate professor of wine in the Department of Culinary Arts at San Joaquin Delta College, he has taught credential courses and consumer workshops for more than a decade at many schools, events, and festivals. His specialties include the wines, regions, and wine history of California, as well as those of Oregon, Europe, and Australia. He’s also sought after for tasting and food-and-wine pairing workshops. His credentials include Diploma of Wine & Spirits, Certified WSET educator, Certified Sommelier, French Wine Scholar, Certified Specialist of Wine, California Wine Appellation Specialist, Italian Wine Professional, and many more. Contact Mr. Swan with any questions or concerns (enrollment via the Delta College online system can be cumbersome): fred.swan@deltacollege.edu.

To learn more about Mr. Swan (pictured to the right), read Randy Caparoso’s blog “Influential wine writers recall their first ‘ah-ha’ Lodi moments.”

 

CUL ART 32 EVALUATION OF WINE (2.0 units)

Offered Tuesday evenings from 6:00 – 8:50pm | March 21 – May 9

Boost your wine tasting skills with this entertaining, step-by-step course that will guide you through the world’s most important grape varieties. Improve your ability to evaluate and describe wines. Learn the fundamentals of food and wine pairing (and some tricks of the trade). You’ll become a more confident taster, enjoy wines more, and be better able to describe them for your friends or customers. The course objectives are to:

1. Identify the key attributes of more than 20 important grape varieties
2. Explain and effectively use the Systematic Approach to Wine Tasting
3. Identify and quantify sweetness, acidity, body, alcohol, tannin, malolactic conversion, and oak in wines
4. Explain and detect the differences in wines based on climate
5. Detect and identify common wine faults
6. Identify top 10 wine varieties in a blind tasting of benchmark wines
7. Understand and describe key principals of food and wine pairing
8. Know how to conduct a professional wine tasting

 

Cul Art 85 Wine Regions of California (1.5 units)

Offered Monday evenings from 6:00 – 8:50pm | March 20 – May 8

We live in one of the world’s most important wine regions. Only the countries of Italy, France, and Spain make more wine than California. It’s also home to many of the world’s very best wines. Learn all about our regions and wine styles in this fun, engaging, and comprehensive tasting class. We’ll dive deeply into key regions and also cover essentials, such as wine law and climate. Stories, history, and great tastings will add depth, context and give you interesting anecdotes to share with your friends or customers.

The course will cover US & California wine law, plus all California wine regions. Regions of particular focus will be Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino, Lodi & the Delta area, San Luis Obispo County, Santa Barbara County, Monterey County, and the Sierra Foothills. One full class will be dedicated to Lodi and its surroundings. This is a tasting class and there will be relevant wines with every lecture.

 

The course description online states there is a prerequisite course, but you may contact Mr. Swan to waive it. Learn how to register for Delta courses here: https://deltacollege.edu/registering-classes. Delta’s fees for California residents are $46 per unit. There may also be a small supplemental “materials” fee to help cover the wine.

 


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