CUL-140 Beverage Fundamentals

Students will examine the world of beers, wines, and spirits in the context of the foodservice industry. Students will learn relevant terminology as well as the fundamentals of production for each beverage group. Students will examine how differences in food and culture have led to similar offerings throughout the world. Responsible beverage service as well as pairing products with food will be covered as well as the significant availability of local products.

Credits

3

Lecture Contact Hours

3

Lab Contact Hours

0

Other Contact Hours

0

Department

• Business

Grading Scheme

• Letter

SUNY Gen Ed Credit

• No

Semesters Course Will Be Offered

• Fall
• Spring

Course Learning Outcomes

1. Classify beverages and beverage families based on origins, characteristics, ingredients, and typical methods of service.
2. Articulate the importance of marketing concepts including identification of primary and secondary target markets as they relate to purchasing and menu functions.
3. Discuss how food and beverage pairings should feature complementary flavors and bodies.
4. Recommend an alcoholic beverage to a customer based on customers' taste preferences.

View Course Outline

CUL 140: Beverage Fundamentals

Department

Business

Course Description

Students will examine the world of beers, wines, and spirits in the context of the foodservice industry. Students will learn relevant terminology as well as the fundamentals of production for each beverage group. Students will examine how differences in food and culture have led to similar offerings throughout the world. Responsible beverage service as well as pairing products with food will be covered as well as the significant availability of local products.

Credit Hours

3

Contact Hours

Lecture	3
Lab	0
Other	0

Grading Scheme

Letter

Semester(s) Course Will Be Offered

Fall, Spring

Course Learning Outcomes

1. Classify beverages and beverage families based on origins, characteristics, ingredients, and typical methods of service.
2. Articulate the importance of marketing concepts including identification of primary and secondary target markets as they relate to purchasing and menu functions.
3. Discuss how food and beverage pairings should feature complementary flavors and bodies.
4. Recommend an alcoholic beverage to a customer based on customers' taste preferences.

Topic Outline

1. Prelude to Wine- Understanding Fermentation, Faults, Climate, Terroir, and Tastes
   1. Body, style, acidity versus fruit, the impact of climatic issues on grapes, taste differences of the same varietal grown in different soils, discussion of wine sales in foodservice establishments, and barriers to wine sales.
2. Wines of the United States: California, NY, Oregon, and Washington
   1. History of wine making regions and their growth, AVAs, American labeling laws, noteworthy regions and their primary varietals, cold versus warm climate wines produced from the same varietals, discussion of differences between New World and Old World wine styles.
3. Wines of New York- Grape species, AVA, Laws
   1. What products are grown in what region, vinifera, hybrid, and native grapes and their use to make wines, history of NYS wines and their previous reputation as well as the evolution of the NY Wine industry, discussion of sales strategies, farm to table legislation and purchasing directly from the vineyard.
4. Wines of the World- France
   1. Varietals and styles of wine from the regions of Burgundy, Bordeaux, the Loire, the Rhone, and Languedoc as well as labeling practices for these regions, EU labeling requirements, the reputation of French wines, methods of quality control and assurance, and quality] classifications, wine as food in a cultural context.
5. Wines of the World- Italy, Germany, and Spain
   1. Regional use of varietals in the primary wine regions of Italy (Tuscany, Piedmont, Veneto, Abruzzo, and Sicily, Germany (the Rhine), and Spain (Rioja, Rueda, and Andalusia), value comparison to French wines, wine as food in a cultural context.
6. Ports, Sherries, and Champagne
   1. Classifications of ports including vintage, late bottle vintage, tawny, ruby, and white), port production methods, the British influence on ports, styles and production methods of sherries
      including fino, amontillado, oloroso, and Pedro Jimenez, Madeiras, Marsalas, domestic "sherries" and "ports", champagne versus sparkling wines, dry versus sweet, traditional double fermentation method, charmat method, international partnerships for production.
7. Wine Food and Service
   1. Pairing wine and food, proper service etiquette, proper ordering, receiving and Storage practices, writing and effective wine list, pricing strategies, discussion of the importance of educating and training service staff with regard to wine sales, NYS laws regarding sales of wine in restaurants and other outlets.
8. Beer: history, terminology, current trends- discovery of fermentation, historical production and packaging
   of beers, conversion of starches to sugars, discussion of ingredients
   1. Hops, yeasts (top fermenting and bottom fermenting), grains used (barley, corn, rice, and wheat), water, malt, and flavorings, styles of beers and ales and their flavor profiles, ascertaining a customer's taste profile through explicit feedback, mass production, licensing for international production, the craft beer movement, discussion of pairing with foods.
9. Beers of the world
   1. Beers (flavor profiles, styles and bodies) of the United States, the United Kingdom including England, Scotland, and Ireland, Germany, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Mexico, and the Caribbean, how to successfully pair products with food, best practices for receiving and storing imported products, life span of beer and other brewed beverages.
10. Intro to spirits, history, principles of distillation, gins and vodkas
    1. The history of distilled spirits, the Catholic church's role in the rise of distillation, the chemical processes involved in distillation, pitfalls and risks associated with distilling products used for distilled spirits, families of distilled spirits, spirits as part of regional culture, pot stills versus column stills, refraction of spirits based on the size and shape of stills, history of vodkas, Russian vodkas, Polish vodkas, Scandinavian vodkas, French vodkas, domestic vodkas, products used to make vodka including grapes, apples, potatoes, and grain, history of gin and gin production, use of early gin products as tinctures of medicinal herbs, genever versus LondonDry style, socio economic and cultural shifts surrounding gin consumption, the fall of gin's popularity world wide.
11. Rums and Tequilas
    1. The history of rum, the slave trade, colonization of the Caribbean and surrounding areas and the influence of the founding countries, discussion of style and body, with respect, British style (molasses based) versus French style (sugar cane juice based) rum products, flavored rums, the emergence of rum as a stand alone beverage, aging rum in oak, the tradition of rum production in the early United States, the history of mescal and tequila production, tequilas versus mezcals, the distillation of pulque, growing agave and traditional versus modern processing and distillation methods, discussion of oak aging for tequilas and associated terminology, the emergence of tequila as a stand alone beverage, the long cycle time and the effects on price in the marketplace.
12. Whiskies of the world
    1. Profiles and historical perspective on bourbons and other American whiskies, Canadian whiskies, Irish whiskies, Scotch whiskies, grains used for production, rules surrounding production, classifications of Scotch whiskies including grain whisky, blended whisky, blended malt whisky, and single malt whisky, discussion on the use of oak caks to impart flavor and help to mature whiskies, discussion of age and alleged correlation with quality, whisky additives, whisky making regions of the United States, Canada, Ireland, and Scotland, other whisky producing nations including India and Japan, the future of whisky in the American marketplace.
13. Whiskies cont'd and Brandies, Cordials, and Specialty Liqueurs
    1. The production and flavor profiles of Cognac and Armagnacs, Napoleon brandies, domestic brandies, French quality markers including VS, VSOP, and XO designations, distillation techniques, aging in oak, reduction, the importance of regional cordials and liqueurs from a cultural perspective, flavor profiles of famous liqueurs and cordials and their use in recipes.