Enology 1

The course aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the scientific principles underpinning oenological production, building upon the essential biological, physical, and chemical fundamentals. Specifically, Oenology 1 provides the students with the knowledge for managing the transformation of grapes into wine within a winery setting.
Lectures will facilitate an understanding and management of both the machinery employed in the winemaking process and the associated physical, biological, and chemical phenomena. This will enable students to grasp the role of each individual winemaking step and its effect on the final product characteristics. Practical exercises will reinforce computational skills applied to solving problems related to mass, energy, and kinetic balances.
Furthermore, this course will serve as a prerequisite for comprehending the specific production techniques for achieving wines with optimal sensory characteristics, as explored in the subsequent Oenology 2 course.

Upon completion of the course, students will be required to demonstrate knowledge of: the principles underpinning the unit operations employed in the oenological sector; the schematic and operational aspects of key winemaking machinery; the composition of ripe and ripening grapes, as well as the role of their primary constituents in the final characteristics of wine. Furthermore, they will need to understand the effects of harvesting, grape reception, and cellar operations on the individual constituents of grapes, must, and wine, as well as on sensory properties.
Students will be able to: solve problems related to the unit operations covered; evaluate the application of unit operations at various stages of the winemaking process; competently participate in winemaking processes and make decisions consistent with the expected production outcome; and correctly size winery machinery, understanding its function and effects on the final product
They will also be capable of: correlating the compositional characteristics of grapes and harvesting methods with the oenological outcome; defining optimal fermentation and winemaking conditions to achieve the desired oenological result; conducting technical wine tasting to extrapolate descriptors and identify potential defects that may arise during the winemaking process and/or storage. Finally, they will be able to participate in the compulsory company internship, understanding assigned tasks, correctly performing and critically evaluating them, .
Students will possess proficiency in technical language, be able to communicate aspects of the winemaking process, and be capable of producing a technical report on the work undertaken during the winery internship for the purpose of their degree dissertation.