Identifying and Managing Wine Faults (Intermediate Level)

What are the common wine faults, how are they identified, what are their causes and how are they corrected?

Course content

WineGB’s Training and Education survey ranked sensory evaluation within the top training needs, reflecting the increasing number of English and Welsh wines entering the market.

It is invaluable to be able to spot wine faults and understand why they occur.

This course will bring you the theory of specific wine faults, including a practical application through a tutored tasting.

You will examine faults and their underlying causes, as well as learning the winemaking techniques, and/or storage conditions, to prevent and correct the faults

Aims

Learn to identify faults and taints, and their underlying causes in wines. 

Apply these skills to a winetasting guided by professional winemaker and wine lecturer, Sarah Midgley.

Outcomes

By the end of this course students will be able to:

• Describe off flavours and aromas in wine
• Define specific faults in wine including: Brettanomyces, volatile acidity, light strike, TCA, reduction and oxidation 
• Understand the underlying causes of common wine faults
• Suggest preventative measures against common wine faults
• Recommend corrective actions for faulty wines
• Assess finished wines for faults

You need to be aged over 18 years old to take this course.

Course Cost

Please note Plumpton College Wine Division have recently secured some funding, allowing for a reduction in price to a selection of wine courses, subject to eligibility*.

*Learners will be eligible for funding if they were aged over 19 on 31st August 2024 and have been resident in the UK for the last 3 years. Learners living in devolved areas (eg Greater London Combined Authority) will not be eligible for funding. Learners currently undertaking an apprenticeship will not be eligible for funding.

Cost (non-funded price): £210

Cost (funded price): £126