Cornell University Viticulture and Enology Experience (CUVEE)

Increase your wine knowledge & practice working vines & making wine

Pairing acclaimed faculty members from Cornell's Viticulture and Enology Program with leading winery owners, vineyard managers, grape growers, and winemakers, CUVEE offers a hands-on introduction to growing grapes and making and analyzing wine.

With the beautiful Finger Lakes wine region as your classroom, you'll increase your wine appreciation and knowledge while also learning about

• Key agricultural components of growing grapes
• The importance of microbiology in wine making
• Scientific principles behind viticulture and enology
• The business aspects of owning or investing in a winery

Along the way you'll savor and evaluate wines during specially designed tastings, enjoy a winemaker's dinner at a winery and explore vibrant Finger Lakes vineyards.

Highlights

• Learn methods for growing wine grapes.
• Investigate the effects of climate and soils on grapes and wine.
• Study wine microbiology and fermentation basics.
• Visit top growers to observe vineyard practices.
• Practice working vines and making wine.
• Develop your own special wine blend.
• Gain an insider's view of the winemaking business.
• Practice techniques for the sensory analysis of wine

What you'll learn

While focusing on procedures used in smaller vineyards and wineries, you'll delve into three main areas:

Viticulture

• Learn in detail about grapes and how they grow.
• Visit top growers to observe vineyard practices.
• Gain hands-on experience practicing key grape-growing techniques in real vineyards.
• Taste wines that demonstrate the effects of vineyard practices on wine quality.
• Enjoy a winemaker's dinner at a winery.
• Study the effects of climate and terroir on grape and wine flavors.

Enology

• Train for and practice the sensory evaluation of wines, identifying positive and negative attributes and learning how these flavors develop in wines.
• Investigate the general steps in the winemaking process and deepen this knowledge through discussions with Finger Lakes winemakers.
• Learn about the importance of microbiology to winemaking.
• Practice yeast and bacteria inoculation techniques to start fermentations.
• Experience the flavor perception effects of interactions between foods and wines.
• Practice blending wines to create the best possible final product.
• Evaluate wines chosen to demonstrate outcomes of scientific enology principles discussed in lectures.

Business

Attend a luncheon business seminar on starting a wine business. Speakers will include a Cornell economics faculty member and winery owners, and there will be ample time for questions.