As the Co-principle Investigator of the Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts Grant with Lynda Dias, since 2012 we have been awarded $7000 annually ($5000 in 2012) to create learning opportunities that include place-based learning at an urban winery. This grant impacts between 130 to 170 students annually. It is estimated that 70% of the 2017 graduates were impacted by this grant funding.
The reach of this project has extended out of City Tech. The Bridge, whose “focus is on the breakthrough companies, entrepreneurs and trends that have made Brooklyn a worldwide brand and a growing economic center” has over 2000 twitter followers and 1500 Instagram followers. In 2017 they published an article about innovative teaching practices and included this project. The New York Daily News showcased the student wine making project in their 2016 college showcase edition.
About the assignment, in the Wines of the New World class we apply proven high-impact educational practices whereby students actively participate in the wine making process. They have the opportunity to punch down the cap, taste recently harvested grapes, evaluate stems and seeds for ripeness, taste active fermenters and barrel samples as well. Students then create two proprietary blends, both a red and white wine. The collaborative learning project we call “Blending Community, Philanthropy, and Education” impacts the learning of student in the department’s dining room operation course as well. The dining room students learn about and served the wines in the college’s Janet Lefler Dining Room.
o 2016: https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/new-world-wines-f16/
o 2015: https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/new-world-wines-f15/category/team-two/
o 2014: https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/new-world-wines-14/
o 2013: https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/new-world-wines-13/
o 2012: https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/wines-of-the-new-world/
