Work in Progress - Collins School of Hospitality Management


	“An experience like this for a student adds a layer of education that's hard to duplicate. Banfi truly just wants to deepen students' knowledge." - Margie Jones, wine education professor

THE ROAD TO TUSCANY
As a 40-acre Educational and Outreach Site, AGRIscapes Plans for its Next Growth Cycle

If you ask Chad Colby about wine and food, be prepared for a wonderful conversation about not only what tastes good but also from whence the libations and delicacies come.

“What we call bruschetta in the United States is actually the Italian crostini. Bruschetta is thickly sliced bread, and crostini is a thin bread, and the name doesn’t have anything to do with the topping, but the wine you choose does,” says Colby, who recently graduated from the Collins School of Hospitality Management with a degree in hospitality management and an emphasis in restaurant and culinary arts management. He now works at the award-winning Campanile restaurant in Los Angeles.

The Collins School of Hospitality Management is California's oldest and largest hospitality management program preparing future industry leaders. “Historically, Tuscans were taxed on salt, so they made bread without it, and the toppings were salty. And the red wines of that region would go well with a salty crostini topping.”

Colby’s desire to pursue a career in the culinary arts began when he was a young athlete sidelined in front of the television after knee surgery and became hooked on cooking shows. He enrolled at Cal Poly Pomona and was selected to participate in the trip of a lifetime: an all-expense-paid tour of Italy hosted by Castello Banfi, a family-owned vineyard and estate in the Brunello region of Tuscany.

It’s not often a study trip is both educational and sumptuous. The Castello Banfi estate, owned by the Mariani family, invites about two dozen students and faculty each year from a handful of American universities for a weeklong exploration of the Tuscan region and in-depth classes on wine, food and culture at the company’s medieval castle in Montalcino.

“The Mariani family and Castello Banfi have always been dedicated to education as a means of enhancing the appreciation of wine,” says Cristina Mariani May, family proprietor of Castello Banfi. “In learning not only about wine — how it is made and how it is appreciated — but also about the entire artisan food culture that wine is a part of in Italy and throughout Europe, tomorrow’s leaders will fully understand the context of wine in moderation as part of a well-rounded, healthy diet and lifestyle.”


Select Collins School students immerse themselves in learning about the acclaimed vineyards, delicacies and local traditions of the Tuscan region.

This year Banfi has once again selected three participants from the Collins School for the $18,000 trip. “The hospitality program at Cal Poly Pomona is exceptional,” says May.

Participants are immersed in local traditions and visit a prosciutto-aging center, a cheese dairy, a pasta maker, and of course, the internationally acclaimed Banfi vineyard estate, as well as attend courses and lectures on the history and delicacies of local artisanal products including balsamic vinegar, olive oil, bread and honey.

“An experience like this for a student adds a layer of education that’s hard to duplicate,” says Margie Jones, a wine education professor at Cal Poly Pomona, who participated in the trip with Colby. “Banfi provides this trip with no strings attached. They truly just want to deepen students’ knowledge. They’re very selective when choosing students for the trip — they are looking for people who will make wine a part of their lives.”

“Banfi firmly believes that all ships rise with the tide,” says May of the benefit the trip imparts to both the participants and Banfi itself. “If students gain a broader knowledge of Italy’s wine and food, the indirect benefits will be as strong as the direct benefits for our wines in the marketplace.”

In Italy, the food and wine are linked closely together, says Colby of what he learned at Castello Banfi. “The wine they make goes with the food in that region. For example, if they raise livestock, the wine will go with meat. In Sicily, there is a lot of seafood, so the red wines they make there are not heavily oaked but are more acidic to be paired with fish.” Colby says he uses this knowledge about the marriage of food and wine daily.

For more information about the Collins School of Hospitality Management
Randi Kirshbaum
Interim Director of Industry Relations & Development
(909) 869-4786
rlkirshbaum@csupomona.edu