Busch to Bully Hill

Wine tasting workshops like this aren’t unique, Erickson said. The difference in the one offered here is the size as well as the traveling.

He said that all geography departments at Ohio colleges currently feature wine tasting courses, or have had one in the past.

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“There’s a lot of geography in understanding wine,” Erickson said. He also teaches a 3-credit graded course on the geography of wine.

Most universities fill a lecture hall then offer the tasting part through a lab taught by a graduate assistant, he said.

The idea for this incarnation came from another geography innovation—the mobile environmental workshop.

“The idea of putting students on a bus grew from that,” Erickson said. “We just visit wineries instead of environmental control agencies.”

The first stop today is West Point Market in Akron, which boasts over 4,000 labels. Novice wine buyers are often overwhelmed by the upscale store, West Point wine manager Shawn Stack, said.

“We’re going to do this family style,” he announced, passing a bottle around. “Help yourself.”

Few people finish their sample, though not entirely due to displeasure with the wine.

“I can’t finish this so early in the morning,” senior conservation major Aimee Bowling said through soured lips, as Stack introduced the next bottle.

“It was nice to see that wine is sold in containers besides boxes. There is good stuff out there.”

Erickson asked students to declare their preference of the two. The group was evenly split.

“A lot of people say you have to drink red wine with red meat and white wine with white meat,” Stack told the group. “But if you don’t like red just drink white. It’s about finding what you like.”

Growing up on “Busch Beer and tequila,” Stack said he didn’t develop an appreciation for wine until he started working at West Point more than ten years ago. But added that he’s living proof anyone can become a connoisseur.

Reading wine books like “Wine for Dummies” is a good way to start, he said, but it won’t mean anything without tasting.

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West Point offers a tasting every Saturday, as do most wineries. However, Stack suggested that students have their own.

“Wine is a fun alternative to beer,” he said. “Pick a Friday night where everyone brings their favorite bottle.”

Kalnitzky said the class helped her develop her tastes.

“It was nice to see that wine is sold in containers besides boxes,” she said. “There is good stuff out there.”

Stack also said shopping at a store with a wine specialist can be comforting to a beginning wine drinker.

“They want to help you because they want you to come back,” he said.

He emphasized that once beginners like Kalnitzky discover their favorites, it’s important to try new things.

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