MADISON — Lorre Kolb: Discovering the world of wine and vines. We’re visiting with Amaya Atucha, Extension Fruit Crop Specialist, Department of Horticulture, University of Wisconsin-Madison/Extension in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences and I’m Lorre Kolb. Amaya what is the world of wine and vines?
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Amaya Atucha: So we know that in the state of Wisconsin there is a growing grape and wine industry and this is an introduction class looking at grape production and wine culture. It is a new course that we will be offering this summer of 2018 and we thought this would be a great opportunity to educate students and the public in general about knowing grape production, how different regions of the world that produce wine they have a different types of wine because of the way that they grow the grapes and also to highlight the production of grapes and wine here in the Midwest, especially in Wisconsin.
Lorre Kolb: So it leads people to a better understanding of what they’re consuming?
Amaya Atucha: Exactly, and then also to know what they are consuming. Many times we hear about different types of wine; wines from Europe, wines from the southern hemisphere and we don’t really know what those wines are. Just understanding how they were made and why they have specific denominations and what this implies, that is basically what the course is going to cover. It also is going to cover the part of production; how we produce the grapes and how we make the wine. And how to just appreciate it. Learn sensory evolution of wines.
Lorre Kolb: And when is this class?
Amaya Atucha: This class is during the summer period. So it would start in mid-June. It’s an eight week summer session. The class will happen in the evening on the UW-Madison campus.
Lorre Kolb: And is this just open for UW-Madison students?
Amaya Atucha: This class is open to the public in general, everybody can take it, the only requisite that we have is that you need to be 21 years or older because we will be tasting wine.
Lorre Kolb: But it’s more than just a tasting class?
Amaya Atucha: Absolutely, the class is not about tasting wine. Tasting wine is just a complement to the information and what we will be teaching about.
Lorre Kolb: Where can people get more information about the class?
Amaya Atucha: People can get more information at the website of the Horticulture Department. We will have there a poster with information about how to enroll.
Lorre Kolb: Will this class be taught only on campus or will there be field trips to various wineries?
Amaya Atucha: This class will only be taught on campus, but we will have some invited speakers that will represent the wine industry here in Wisconsin.
Lorre Kolb: We’ve been visiting today with Amaya Atucha, Extension Fruit Crop Specialist, Department of Horticulture, University of Wisconsin-Madison/Extension in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences and I’m Lorre Kolb.
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