To show the organization of the course that includes this module, follow this link:  Course organization

Learning outcomes

Aim of the course is to provide the students with the basic knowledge related to wine packaging and conditioning, with a special emphasis on the relationships among container, closure and product. At the end of the course the students should be able to choose, according to the product category and characteristics, consumers’ requests and production costs, the most suitable conditioning procedure as well as the packaging so to ensure that the required quality and shelf-life of the products.
Through an active participation to the solution of practical case studies, the students will acquire the required knowledge and skills for the correct choice of suitable technical processes, containers and closures, as well as for the management of problems that may arise during the various steps of wine conditioning. Furthermore, participating to guided visits to wine production plants or to factories manufacturing equipment for the wine industries, the students will meet and discuss with technical specialists and will be able to realize the issues related to the real life on a production line.

Program

The main issues related to conditioning and packaging of wine products. Packaging materials: glass, PET, tetrapack, steel; technical characteristics and properties, advantages and disadvantages related to their utilization. Bottle closures: natural and synthetic cork, metallic screw cap closures, crown caps, glass stoppers; technical characteristics and properties, advantages and disadvantages related to their utilization. Cleaning and sanitation processes for wine containers: how and why. Choice and use of cleaning and sanitation chemicals, the role of water; CIP and COP technical choices. Wine prefilling treatments: cooling, filtration technology, filtration index. Filling of wine containers: description of the available equipment, properties, advantages and disadvantages, choice of the suitable equipment according to the product’s characteristics. The use of heat shrink capsules, collars, labels: technical characteristics, equipment, advantages and disadvantages related to different labelling techniques.
Besides the suggested textbooks, some study material might also be provided by the lecturer.
Part of the course will be devoted to solving real problems that may occur during the production. The students will be guided to find practical answers to the problems, therefore being obliged to have a global approach to the various issues and to take care of all the possible interactions that may occur within the various steps of the conditioning process and the product. Within this frame, students will also participate to guided visits to wine production plants or to factories manufacturing equipment for the wine industry.

Examination Methods

Oral exam - Initially the student will be asked to discuss one of the topics of the course that he considered of the utmost interest. Afterwards, the teacher will present a practical problem that may be faced in the real working life and will evaluate how the candidate will organize and utilize the scientific and technical skills acquired during the study to highlight a possible solution to the problem. In this way the student will be oriented to study for acquiring not a mere "theoretical knowledge" but a "practical" one.