Master in Italian Wine Culture

Presentation: Master in Italian Wine Culture

The Master in Italian Wine Culture, designed by the University of Gastronomic Sciences in collaboration with Slow Food and the Wine Bank, has the ambitious objective of training “wine tellers.” These new enological ambassadors play a leading role in Italian wine marketing and communication.

The Master follows the unique formula developed at Pollenzo, with classroom teaching complemented by trips to vineyards and wineries and meetings with leading figures from Italian and international enology, culture and agronomy. Wine is examined from a historical, cultural and environmental perspective, as well as technical and agricultural. 

Course content

The multifaceted curriculum of the Masters in Italian Wine Culture integrates technology, craft and culture in a way that has never been done before in Italy.

• Study trips: Three 5-6 day trips ( in the north, centre and south of Italy)
• Experience in the field: A few days each month will be dedicated to the cycle of the vine, with hands on lessons held in various Piedmontese vineyards and wineries such as: Aziende Vitivinicole Ceretto, Fontanafredda, Cantine Borgogno, Azienda Agricola Conterno e Fantino, ecc…
• Internship: 3 months internship in January and March

Main subject areas:
Viticulture, Ampelography and Soil Management
Enology and Tasting Techniques
Botany and Entomology
Geography of Terroirs
Sensory Analysis
Terroir Tasting
History of Wine
“Epistenology”: Knowledge About Wine, Knowledge With Wine
History of Italy and Italian Art
Anthropology of Wine
Principles of Holistic Gastronomy
Experiences of Sommellerie
Wine and Winery Economics
Law and Legislation
Wine Writing and Communication
Sociology of Consumption

Course updated in the academic year 2015/2016. Class hours and contents may vary.

Course format: 

Economists, sociologists, legal experts, historians, anthropologists, philosophers, agronomists, ampelographers, enologists, geologists and entomologists make up the course's faculty, which consists of resident professors and visiting lecturers from many different backgrounds who come to Pollenzo from around Italy, Europe and the rest of the world.

In line with the traditions of the University of Gastronomic Sciences, theory will be regularly combined with practice. Classroom activities will be complemented by regular outings to see the work in the vineyard and winery as it happens. Destinations include many of Piedmont's greatest producers, including Ceretto, Fontanafredda, Cantine Borgogno, Conterno Fantino, Contratto and La Spinetta.

The program also includes three study trips, each lasting a week, so that students can visit and learn more about some of the most important terroirs in northern, central and southern Italy.

The course year begins during winter pruning and concludes after vinification with a final educational internship.

Qualifications/expertise after completing the program

This new professional figure has been identified by UNISG as a result of feedback from many wine producers, who have highlighted the need for this type of expert for the effective promotion of Italian wine.

Wine tellers have expert knowledge of vine cultivation and wine production, and know how to communicate years of enological and viticultural tradition, placing it within a framework of Italian art, history, anthropology and esthetics.

Wine tellers know how to narrate and market Italian wine, which they see as the product of a unique land. They know that in order to best appreciate a wine, one must get to know that land, along with and thanks to the wine.

Entry requirements

• an undergraduate or first-level degree
• proficiency in written and spoken English

Admission criteria: 

• register online
• complete a motivational test
• upload the documents for the application dossier

Course cost description: 

• all academic activities, including conferences, tastings, and seminars
• study material (in digital format)
• all study trip expenses as programmed, including travel, food and lodging
• participation in all UNISG and Slow Food events as included in the Master program
• civil insurance coverage (during academic activities)
• urgent care health coverage for non European students
• wifi internet access on campus
• all Registar Office certificates
• 4000 credits on your lunch cards to be used at UNISG Academic Tables

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