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FOR RELEASE: Dec. 5, 2023
Cornell’s iconic ‘Intro to Wines’ class turns 50
ITHACA, N.Y. – One of Cornell University’s most popular elective courses, the iconic “Introduction to Wines” has helped generations of Cornellians refine their palates – and knowledge – about the many varieties of wine.
Cornell’s first wines course – and the first accredited wines course offered at any American university – launched in 1953 for students in what is now the Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration. This semester the course is celebrating its 50th anniversary as an elective open to students of all majors.
Few traditions in college lore can match the class in which students are served quality alcoholic beverages every week. And, just like a fine cabernet sauvignon, Intro to Wines has only deepened with age.
“It is a journey. We teach the basics of what is wine, and we travel each week to a different place in the world to learn about wines,” said Cheryl Stanley, a senior lecturer in food and beverage management at Nolan, who has taught the class since 2013.
Understanding wine is not just a treat for taste buds and palates. It is crucial for anyone pursuing a career in the hospitality industry, or any business for that matter.
“Wine is a very scary field to look at because you have the viniculture side, the agriculture, the farming part, then you have the knowledge that accompanies knowing how to sit and discuss wine,” said student Delesa McCruter, who took the course last spring. “Because being a hotelier, a lot of the deals I will probably make in my life will be somewhere at some lounge, some bar over a glass of wine.”
The original Introduction to Wine and Spirits was launched in 1953 by a group of five New York vintners and importers, one of whom, Julius Wile, was the course’s first instructor and famously commuted up to Ithaca from New York City once a week for 30 years. However, the course as it is known today was first taught by the late Vance Christian, Cornell’s first Black tenured faculty member.
Competition for a seat in the class is fierce. The current semester enrollment is about 700 students. The wait list for “HADM 4300” is almost as legendary as the class itself. Wines class students are easy to spot. The course fee includes a $45 wine-tasting kit comprised of three glasses inside a black, foam-lined case.
“If you’re on campus on a Wednesday, it looks like we have a lot of clarinet players,” Stanley said.
How much wine is required for 700 students? Of the course’s 14 classes each semester, 12 feature tastings for up to seven different wines. Each student is served one ounce of each wine, and a typical bottle of wine contains 25.4 ounces. That works out to roughly 210 bottles a class, or 2,520 bottles for the semester.
“We are very lucky to have alumni in the wine industry who generously support the class and partners in producers,” Stanley said. “Companies see the benefit of being poured in a 700-person class. I mean, these students are going to become brand ambassadors for these wines.”
For additional information, see this Cornell Chronicle story.
Cornell University has dedicated television and audio studios available for media interviews.
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