Blog: College wine-tasting class turns out useful

This blog was written as part of a wine package that included a story about a wine store, why wine is popular and where to get it in the local area.

I took wine tasting in college.

The one phrase that turns heads at parties or causes people to shift oddly in their chairs and gleam as they form questions in their heads.

Most notably: What college did you go to?

Answer: Florida International University.

Which is usually followed by questions about geography and how I ended up there.

But what people forget is that FIU is in Miami.

A big city known for celebrities, parties and booze. Lots of it.

Wine included.

Also, FIU has the second best Hospitality program in the country.

So growing up in a city in love with alcohol and a renowned program, a wine-tasting class seemed more up my alley than algebra, psychology or the history of Southwest Florida.

Especially a class where I could sit and "evaluate" eight to nine different glasses of wine every Tuesday night for 12 weeks.

I learned about the culture, consumption and allure of wine including the history, grapes and winemaking.

I even figured out why some wines are bottled with corks and some have plastic tops and what role dirt plays in taste.

And that wine isn't about price at all. It's about taste.

We were graded based on two exams about regions, vineyards and being able to read wine bottle labels.

But the real test was in my ability to describe the "nose of the wine" or use words like "tannin, palate, fruit, oak or nuttiness."

It was a cultural experience and a class that would equip me for life after college.

Heck, I've never walked into a restaurant and been asked about rock formations, the pythagorean theorem or the history of the United States.

But wine ... I can pick up a menu and order.

That was the point of the class.