While MSU students tend to be known for studying the various ways of drinking beer, some prefer to learn about a more cultured alcoholic beverage.
In a basement lab in the Plant and Soil Sciences Building, students in the viticulture and enology program - the studies of growing grapes and wine making, respectively - analyze samples of wine taken from MSU's own on-campus vineyard.
There's good reason for these students to be studying grapes. The Midwest's grape and wine industry has grown considerably in the last decade, and Michigan's reputation is growing.
In October, the Michigan Department of Agriculture announced state winemakers had begun exporting wine to Germany for the first time. The state's wine grape acreage has increased 24 percent since 1997.
And with the increased demand for wine comes an increased demand for those in the hospitality industry to be knowledgeable about wine.
That's led to research at MSU and special courses geared toward the topic.
MSU's "wine tasting class" isn't a big secret among students, but what most don't know is the class involves more than just wine.
In Hospitality Business 411, aka "Hospitality Beverages," students have their fair share of textbooks to read and exams and quizzes to take.
"When they heard what they had to do, eight dropped out," said Associate Professor Carl Borchgrevink, who teaches the class of 72 students.
Borchgrevink explained that his students taste wine and have to create a wine list, but the class isn't all about drinking the high-class alcoholic beverage.
"It's a beverage class," he said. "The only additional element is there's a tasting requirement for it. We talk about beer, tea, coffees, new-age drinks, water."
Borchgrevink said state law allows those younger than 21 to consume small amounts of wine for educational purposes, but the question doesn't often come up because the class is only offered to seniors.
"The amount of alcohol we serve is very small - maybe one glass of wine total," he said. "We strictly control the amount we pour."
While Borchgrevink's class is open to students of all majors, it is geared toward those in hospitality business.
"Some think it's easy - it's hard," he said. "It's like if I asked you to try to describe what butter tastes like."
