Coordinator: UBx

Implementing partners: TeSaU /  GTU / Udelar

Objectives of the course: 

• Teach students the basics in wine microbiology: non-Saccharomyces yeasts, Saccharomyces yeasts, lactic acid bacteria, acetic acid bacteria, diversity and classification, cell structure and metabolism, development in wine, achievement of alcoholic and malolactic fermentations, and modulation of wine quality.

• Teach students the recent developments in the knowledge and control of wine yeasts and bacteria: genomics and ecology of species, selection and application of starter cultures, yeasts and bacteria in the context of bioprotection and reduction of sulfites, and methods for identification and monitoring of beneficial and undesirable yeasts and bacteria during winemaking.

• Teach students the oenological codex, oenological practices and wine treatments, to Know the technical aids and additives allowed in wines, to be able to control oenological practices and wine treatments (physical, chemical, …), to understand the mechanisms of action of oenological products, stability and colloidal phenomena involved in the life of wine., to know how to solve the problems of breaking a wine, to know how to use the appropriate shutters for bottling a wine.
• Teach students about new oenological practices and existing ones taking into account environmental impact / sustainability and consumer health and technological innovations. Teach students the food safety and physiological effects of wine on human health toxicological risks of different types of contaminants and how to reduce the risks and prevent contaminations.
• Teach students To identify the risks for workers/consumers and to propose methods to limit them in the context of viticultural practices, processes and treatments.
• Teach students to be able to constantly adapt the process of transformation of grapes into wine according to the results of microbiological, chemical and sensory analyzes. Being able to use the tools of sensory analysis to judge the intrinsic quality of the wine obtained. Being able to use the tools of sensory analysis to judge its conformity with the desired product.

Outcomes: 

• TeSaU: The module became a part of the already existing MA study program on viticulture and winemaking. First piloting in the 2021–2022 academic year.
• GTU: The module piloted in the 2021–2022 academic year in the context of an existing bachelor’s degree in viticulture and winemaking.
• Udelar: The module was offered as elective to postgraduate students in the courses of enology and fermentation biotechnology. There are plans to develop a bachelor’s degree in viticulture and viniculture.