Practicum Tasks
VITICULTURE
VIN 111 - 16 hours of field practicum time required participating in or performing the following tasks:
- Soil sampling
- Soil pH measurements
- Implementation of soil fertility plan
- Identification and understanding of various trellis systems
- Stock selection
- Planting methods
- Proper planting methods
- Post planting care
- Identification of vine anatomy
- Proper trunk and cordon selection
- Proper vine training procedures
VIN 212 - 32 hours of field practicum time required participating in or performing the following tasks:
- Identification of vine anatomy
- Description of growth events during growing and dormant seasons.
- Identification of annual and perennial growth cycles
- Accurate identification of old wood, diseased wood, live and dead buds, and basal buds.
- Vine tying systems
- Bud counts
- Positioning of renewal spurs and properly spacing fruiting spurs
- Proper cordon tying
- Balanced pruning
- Calculation of number of buds to retain based on pruning weight and appropriate balanced pruning formula.
- Vine pruning using the results of appropriate balance pruning formula
- Bench trial propagation of preferred varieties
- Produce a minimum of six rooted cuttings
- Identification of major spring pest concerns
- Early season pest management strategies
- Identification of major fungal diseases at field site
- Sprayer calibration
- Application of herbicide spray
- Application of fungicide/insecticide spray
- Application lime
- Proper trellis maintenance
VIN 214 - 32 hours of field practicum time required participating in or performing the following tasks:
- Identification of major insect pests
- Identification of major weed pests
- Identification of major fungal diseases at field site
- Adjustment of existing management strategies for identified pests and diseases
- Adjustment of a given spray schedule
- Water management strategies for field site
- Desuckering and shoot thinning
- Petiole sampling
- Implementation of a nutritional plan based on analysis.
- Proper cluster thinning
- Proper shoot positioning
- Proper leaf removal
- Description of canopy ideotype characteristics
VIN 215 - 32 hours of field practicum time required.
- Participation in vine summer fertility plan
- Participation in proper sampling and lab analysis techniques to predict harvest
- Application of previously learned tasks and their impact on the quality of the harvest
- Participation in the harvest operation
- Participate in coordination of harvest transportation
- Demonstrate proper post harvest monitoring of the vineyard
ENOLOGY
VIN 146 - Approximately 8 hours of observation
- Tour of winery facility by mentor
-
Observe as many steps of white wine making process as possible during the semester in which the student is enrolled. As the time of the year allows, these steps and procedures could include:
Stemming and Crushing
Pressing
Must Analysis, adjustment and treatment
Fermentation
Racking wine off of the lees
Clarification
Stabilization
Maturation
Finishing
Bottling -
Observe as many steps of red wine making process as possible during the semester the student is enrolled. As the time of the year allows, these steps and procedures could include:
Stemming and Crushing
Must adjustment and treatment
Fermentation
Pressing
Malolactic Fermentation
Racking
Clarification and Stabilization
Maturation
Fining and Filtration
VIN 246 - 16 hours of field practicum hours required
-
Assist in all steps of white wine making process as applicable during crush including:
Stemming and Crushing
Pressing
Must Analysis, adjustment and treatment
Fermentation
Racking wine off of the lees
-
Assist in all steps of red wine making process as applicable during crush including:
Stemming and Crushing
Must adjustment and treatment
Fermentation
Pressing
Malolactic Fermentation
Racking
VIN 247 - 16 hours of field practicum hours required
-
Assist in all steps of white wine making process as applicable post-harvest including:
Racking
Clarification
Stabilization
Maturation
Fining
Filtration
Bottling
-
Assist in all steps of red wine making process as applicable during post-harvest including:
Pressing
Malolactic Fermentation
Racking
Clarification
Stabilization
Maturation
Fining
Filtration
Bottling
VIN 257 - 194 hours of field practicum hours required
- Set up and operation of de-stemming and crushing equipment
- Set up and operation of grape press equipment
- Set up and operation of lees filter
- Demonstrate of fermentation monitoring by measuring Brix and temperature
- Cap management through one or more of the following techniques – pump-over, punch-down, deluce, rotary fermentation
- Barrel re-hydration, cleaning, sanitation and repair
- Storage of full and empty barrels
VIN 259 - 64 hours of field practicum hours required
- Setup and operation of pumps, flush lines, etc. to transfer wines.
- Perform the safe transfer of wines in accordance with standard operating procedures for racking, filtration, topping and mixing.
- Setup and perform laboratory level fining trials
- Perform cellar additions
- Setup equipment and perform clarification of wines including plate and frame filtration, pressure leaf, cross-flow, rotary drum and centrifugation, and rotary vacuum
- Setup equipment and perform laboratory level sensory evaluation, chemistry, and volumes available
- Perform wine blending and evaluate results
- Develop a blending plan based on laboratory results
- Setup and perform laboratory stabilization trials (microbial, heat and cold)
- Perform cellar stabilization operations
- Setup a bottling line including tanks, filters, membrane filters, filler bowl, etc.
- Participate in bottling line activities.
- Clean and sanitize a bottling line
- Conduct tests for integrity of the membrane filter and operation of a bottling line.
- Perform functions at standard steps in the bottling operation
- Dismantle the bottling line, clean and sterilize in accordance with standard operating procedure
- Safely handle SO2, cleaning chemicals, ozone, acids, and laboratory reagents.