Concepts in Viticulture and Wine Science

This subject is not offered in 2013.

128 hours. Students are expected to devote 8 hours per week (11 weeks) to this subject as well as attend a one-week residential school.

Attend week long teaching block at Dookie campus.

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Description, Subject Objectives, Generic Skills and Assessment Requirements of this entry. The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the disability support scheme can be found at the Disability Liaison Unit website: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

This subject has six modules in which it introduces topics that will be further developed in later viticulture and wine science subjects. The modules include an introduction to viticulture, soil, grapevine structure and function, pests and diseases, wine microbiology and wine chemistry.

This subject provides an introduction to the science of viticulture and oenology. On completing this subject students will be able to:

1. Show an appreciation of the relationship between viticulture and wine quality;
2. Describe the general composition of soil and methods of classification of Australian soils;
3. Demonstrate an understanding of the nature of the physical, chemical, and biological properties of soil and their relationship to grape production;
4. Demonstrate an understanding of the role of soil nutrients in the growth and development of grapevines;
5. Demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between grapevine structure and function;
6. Describe the events in the vegetative and reproductive cycles of the grapevine and their relationship to the production process;
7. Demonstrate an understanding of the influence of environmental factors on quality grape and wine production;
8. Apply knowledge of plant reproduction to grapevine propagation methods and evaluate the appropriateness of each method;
9. Identify the major plant pathogens within the vineyard enterprise;
10. Demonstrate a knowledge of the basic chemistry in the wine making process; and
11. Explain the wine yeasts and their role in the wine making process.

Practical book from Residential School (30%); Assignment 1, (3,000 words - 30%); and Assignments 2, (4,000 words - 40%).

Dry, P.R. and Coombe, B.G. (eds) (2004) Viticulture. Volume 1: Resources. Winetitles, Adelaide.

Coombe, B.G. and Dry, P.R. (eds) (1992) Viticulture. Volume 2: Practices. Winetitles, Adelaide.

Rankine, B.(2004) Making Good Wine. Macmillan,Sydney,NSW

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.