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Whether you鈥檙e a restaurateur making selections for a menu,聽a business associate having dinner with clients, or you鈥檙e just聽looking to enjoy a delicious meal at home, Robin Back believes聽everyone could benefit from learning about wine.

The associate professor has more than 25 years of聽experience in the beverage industry, and his love and聽knowledge of wine stems from the South African native鈥檚聽family, who has been producing wine for four generations.

鈥淚 really enjoyed the educational side of my work, and I saw聽teaching wine courses as a huge opportunity. It really can be a聽useful life skill,鈥� says Back, who is one of the instructors for the聽Exploring Wines of the World course at the Rosen College of聽Hospitality Management.

With about 50 students in each class, the course teaches聽them about the production of grape varieties and how to use聽their senses to taste and evaluate wine and pair it with food.

鈥淲hat鈥檚 very gratifying to me is that I usually start each聽semester with 50 wine novices 鈥� and by the end of the聽semester, I have 50 wine geeks who can 鈥� evaluate it using the聽correct terminology to describe it,鈥� Back says.

What makes each wine region special?

It鈥檚 what we call 鈥渢erroir鈥� in聽wine speak, which is a French聽term, but there is no English聽equivalent. It basically聽means the 鈥渟omewhereness鈥澛爋f a particular vineyard聽site. What do I mean by聽somewhere-ness? It鈥檚 the聽type of soil, the amount聽of sunshine that it gets,聽the slope of the land, any聽shadows from mountains,聽the amount of rainfall, the聽amount of wind 鈥� all of聽these factors come together聽to make every growing site聽unique.

How should wine be stored?

[When it comes to a cork or聽screw cap,] it really depends聽on the wine. Most wines these聽days are not meant to be聽aged 鈥� [and] the screw cap is聽[almost like a time capsule].聽On the other side of the coin,聽[a] cork will allow microscopic聽amounts of air in, and allow聽wine to develop.聽What I thoroughly dislike聽are those plastic 鈥渃orks鈥澛爐hat you sometimes get on聽inexpensive wines. You often聽end up with an oxidized wine聽because as the bottle expands,聽the plastic closure doesn鈥檛.聽It lets air in, and you have a聽spoiled wine.

What is the proper drinking technique?

You want a large enough glass聽that a normal size pour is only聽going to fill a quarter to a third聽of the glass to enable you to聽swirl it without spilling it.聽You want the opening to be聽large enough that when you聽take a sip, you鈥檙e sticking your聽nose into the glass so you can聽smell it because most of what聽we taste is linked to our sense聽of smell. You should hold it by聽the stem so you don鈥檛 warm聽up the wine with your hand,聽unless you want to heat it up,聽such as in the case of a red聽wine that is too cold.

What makes a good wine?

That鈥檚 the first question I ask聽my students at the start of聽every semester. I always get聽blank stares before I tell them,聽鈥淭he answer is very easy:聽If you like it, it鈥檚 a good wine.聽If you don鈥檛 like it, it鈥檚 not.鈥澛營 always use food as an聽analogy. We may go to the聽restaurant and order the聽same dish. I love it; you hate聽it. It鈥檚 the same dish, the same聽ingredients, but there may聽be ingredients in there that聽one of us likes and the other聽doesn鈥檛. It doesn鈥檛 make it聽good or bad 鈥� it鈥檚 just about聽different tastes.