Viticulture and Enology
There’s more to wine than choosing the right bottle. Spend your Maymester mastering its finer aspects; and learn about its production, health implications, cultivation and economic impact on Cortona, Italy. Students will stay in a renovated 15th century monastery in the heart of Italian wine culture and share dinners at a local family-run restaurant.
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We started our last week of the program off right with a field trip. We went to the Fanti estate. When we arrived at the estate, we were taken on a tour of the facility. The tour started in the room where all the fermentation tanks were. As someone who has worked on a winery…
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You cannot be in Italy without making a charcuterie board. These are something I am very familiar with back home. Some nights it is just nice to make a charcuterie board for dinner and have a glass of wine. The majority of the contents on the board were purchased from the weekly market held on…
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During our first week of class, we had a lecture about the history of wine. During this lecture, we discussed the many ways wine was transported during ancient times. The Greek and Romans both had a very important part of getting the wine industry where it is today. Our first field trip as a class…
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Italy was incredibly rich in culture and atmosphere. It was unlike anything I have ever experienced in the US. The initial culture shock was hard to get over, but once I became comfortable my experience was excellent. One thing that surprised me was how much English the average Italian spoke. I was expecting to need…
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The living conditions in Italy were completely different than what I’m used to. The building we stayed in in Cortona was made of stone several feet thick. The walls had a terrible echo, but the building was beautiful. The dorms were a comfortable size and the dining hall was sufficient for hanging out and eating.…
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On my study abroad trip to Cortona, we stayed in Rome for a night. It was a challenge to get around considering we had no car. However, we managed to figure out the bus system and get from place to place. We only had one day, but we managed to see all the major sights.…
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Before coming to Italy, I didn’t really know what to expect when it comes food. I have always loved pasta and pizza but knew that traditional Italian food would definitely not be the same as the American Italian cuisine that I was used to. Of course the first thing that I bought food wise when…
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I knew since my freshmen year that I wanted to participate in the Viticulture and Enology study abroad. I knew to a certain degree I liked wine and wanted to study a unique agricultural industry. This program went above and beyond EVERYTHING I had predicted. First, you truly do learn from planting to fermentation how…
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With the Viticulture and Enology group, we had the chance to visit Barone Ricasoli’s estate and The Fanti estate. The Ricasoli estate was in the Chianti Classico region of Italy while Fanti was in the Montalcino region. At Ricasoli we listened to their agronomist discuss their different soil types and how it affects the wine.…
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There is an undeniable connection between food and community. We have all experienced it; a good meal that brings people together, the laughter and memories made. Being a student in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, I love to see food bringing people together. However, there was something really unique about the food experience…