1. Wine and Food Pairing
Implementation Plan
Renee Kowalchik
May 2013

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Wine and Food Pairing - Implementation Plan
Module Overview and Description:
This instructional module is designed to teach store clerks at a wine retailer how to help
customers choose a wine to pair with a meal. This module will not make the clerks expert wine
sommeliers, but will give the learners the tools to make some general suggestions to help customers.
Because of the complexity of wine tasting and pairing in addition to the time limit, this module will focus
on learners who have at least a general knowledge of wine types and the characteristics used to describe
wine.
Learner Analysis:
First, the learners for this module will all be adults. Because this employee training deals with an
alcoholic beverage, the age restrictions imposed by the government will only allow employees over the
age of twenty-one. Knowing that all of the learners will be adults gives the designers some direction for
structuring the training. According to Knowles, as described by Mark Smith in his article, adult learners
are self-directed, have increased background and life experiences, and are motivated and ready to learn
(Smith, 2002). These characteristics may apply in the design of this module first by requiring the training
to be flexible to increase the learner’s control to work with their self-directed nature. In addition, it is
likely the adult learners will appreciate the connections to life experiences and the direct relationship to
their job as a salesperson for the wine retailer.
Another generalization that can be made is the minimum academic level of the learners. Due to the
nature of the job, the employer only hires individuals with at least a high school diploma and some
experience in a retail setting. Because of these requirements, the learners all read at a minimum of an
eighth grade reading level and have some experience using computers. These characteristics are a
consideration when designing instruction to insure that the text is readable for the learner and
multimedia is accessible using a computer.
The characteristics of the actual learners participating in this module are similar to each other.
They are summarized in the table below. It is suggested in the text that instruction be designed so that it
is slightly more challenging than would be expected for the average learner to accomplish. In this way,
supplements or strategies in course structure may be available for those learners who are struggling, but
the majority of learners are challenged and engaged (Morrison, Ross, Kalman, & Kemp, 2011).
Audience  Retail store clerks
General Learner
Characteristics
 Age: 40- 60+
 Gender: Females
 Education: Graduate degree
 Work Experience: 1-30 years
 Ethnicity – White
Prerequisites  All are familiar with general types of wine
 All are familiar with different types of foods
Prior Experience  All have experience with customer service
 All are casual wine drinkers who understand the characteristics
used to describe wine
Attitude and Motivation  Being only casual wine drinkers, these participant have little
experience pairing food and wine
 All participants are willing to learn more about wine/food pairing

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Instructional Context:
The learners in this module are all casual wine drinkers. They know the names and some general
characteristics of different types of wine. They also have a basic knowledge of food and food preparation.
These prerequisite skills and knowledge will be used to help the learner understand why certain wines
pair well with specific foods. Being able to successfully pair wine and food will help the store clerks
improve customer service, but will also be beneficial in their personal lives as all of them drink wine at
least occasionally. Learners build personal interpretations of the world based on individual experiences
and interactions. (Ertmer, Newby 1993) From Adult learning, learning occurs through independent
action of the learner, when life experience can be used as a resource for learning, when learning needs
are closely aligned to social roles, is problem centered and is motivated by internal factors. (Conlan,
Grabowski, & Smith, 2003) Keeping these points in mind, the instruction focused on building on the
learners prior knowledge, on developing their interest in learning about wine and food pairing, and on
improving their ability to help customers.
The instructional module will be a blended format, some of the information is presented to each
individual in a multimedia format via computer and other parts require individual and large group
instruction by a facilitator. Access to computers, wireless internet, writing implements for taking notes,
and a large workspace on which to place several wine glasses, food dishes, and utensils is required. Each
participant will need a “Participant Guide” which should be printed in advance. A stove, oven, and
refrigerator are all required for food and wine storage and food preparation. Samples of various foods
and wine described later in this module are required for each participant. The foods chosen are those
that can be found easily pre-made in most grocery stores. This will keep preparation to a minimum.
Unit Goals and Instructional Objectives:
There are three goals for this instructional module:
1. Explain the rules for pairing wine and food
2. Match food with an appropriate wine
3. Help a potential customer choose a wine that will pair well with their meal
In order for these goals to be met, the following learning objectives must be completed:
1. Identify wine and food characteristics that affect the pairing relationship
2. List the rules for pairing wine and food
3. Group wine and food based on their dominant characteristics
4. Make appropriate connections between wine and food based on their characteristics
5. Suggest appropriate wine using customer input
Instructional Strategies:
Introduction by Facilitator (5 minutes)
Hand out learner packet. Refer learners to the wine guide on page 2 that summarizes the
characteristics of some popular types of wine. Note that the wines used in this module are
highlighted.
Multimedia Presentation – Rules for Wine and Food Pairing (10 minutes)
In this interactive, multimedia presentation, the learners will be introduced to the rules for how to

4. 3
successfully pair wine and food. This part of the instruction will be computer-based with a
graphic organizer located in the learner packet on which participants can take notes. It will end
with a short quiz to check for understanding.
Wine and Food Pairing (35 minutes)
The participants will receive samples of wine and food to test the rules for themselves. Directions
for this activity are in the learner packet along with a place for the participants to take notes if
they should so choose. There will also be an opportunity to try some of the wines with foods that
do not pair well.
Putting it All Together (10 minutes)
The participants will complete a final multimedia activity to review the pairing rules, and to
practice helping customers choose an appropriate wine. This is in the form an computer-based
quiz to assess how well the learner can pair wine and food.
Learner Assessment Strategies:
The overall goal in training and educational settings is to determine student success in learning.
(Morrison, G. R., Ross, S. M., Kalman, H. K., & Kemp, J. E. 2011). Formative assessment of the learner will
take place throughout the module as the facilitator interacts with the learners. Asking the learner
questions and gauging their understanding through one-on-one discussions is a quick and easy way to
determine learner progress. This can be done at all stages of the module for all of the learning goals and
objectives. There is also a short quiz at the end of the interactive multimedia presentation on the rules of
pairing. This quiz will allow the facilitator to determine who is ready to move on to the actual tasting of
the food and wine pairs. The quiz will focus on the rules for pairing wine and food, which is aligned with
the first goal of this module – “Explain the rules for pairing wine and food.” The objectives that support
this goal and are tested in this assessment are identifying wine and food characteristics that affect
pairing, listing the rules for pairing, and grouping the food and wine based on their characteristics.
We will use summative evaluation as it is directed toward measuring the degree to which the
major outcomes are attained. (Morrison, G. R., Ross, S. M., Kalman, H. K., & Kemp, J. E. 2011) Summative
assessment will take place in the last section of the module when the learner completes the interactive
assessment to review the rules and suggest wine pairings to a fictitious customer. Using information
provided by a customer, the learner will need to give a possible wine paring that will complement the
description. In this way, the learner will show that they are able to successfully help customers. This
assessment measures the level to which learners have met the second and third goals stated earlier,
“Match food with an appropriate wine” and “Help a potential customer choose a wine that will pair well
with their meal.”
The learners will also complete a short survey. This survey will include questions about whether
or not they enjoyed the lesson, if they would like more information on the topic, and what they thought of
the course itself. While these questions are not directly related to the goals of the course, the evaluation
will help to determine whether or not the learners thought that the lesson was beneficial, and if there are
changes that might need to be considered if the lesson were to be used again.
Summary of Modifications:
The major modification made was focusing the goals and objectives on wine and food pairing only.
Because the learners all have a general knowledge of wine, there is no need to instruct on the
characteristics of wine and wine tasting. This will also solve the problem of the module being too long.
The original plan had expected a wide variety of learner characteristics and was designed based on the
large range of prior knowledge a varied group could be expected to have. Because the actual learners for

5. 4
this module have very similar characteristics and a large amount of prior knowledge about wine and
food, the instructional materials could be tailored to that level. The learning related scheme suggests
ways to sequence content based on learner characteristics identified in the learner analysis. This scheme
“considers difficulty of material, its appeal or interest to the learner, prerequisite information and the
learner’s cognitive development.” (Morrison, G., Ross, S. M., Kalman, H. K., & Kemp, J. E. 2011) Because the
learners are very similar, it was much easier to focus on their strengths and deficiencies when designing
the instruction. The instructional materials were revised with this focus, and now include computer-
based segments in addition to facilitator led instruction.
The other major modification deals with the level of proficiency expected as a result of the
instruction. Because of the complexity of the topic and the limited amount of time, the process of food and
wine pairing was simplified as much as possible. The types of wine used in the module were limited to
just five very common and versatile varietals, so that while the learner will not be an expert, they will be
able to make some general pairings that will help the customers. In addition, the foods chosen to do the
tasting portion of the lesson are those that can be purchased pre-made and stored and heated quickly and
easily. This should reduce the time necessary for the lesson, but still give the learner enough experience
to feel more comfortable helping customers select wine.

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REFERENCES
Conlan, J., Grabowski, S., & Smith. (2003). Adult Learning. Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching
and technology. http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Adult_Learning
Ertmer, P.A. and Newby, T.J. (1993). Behaviorism, Cognitivism, Constructivism: Comparing critical
features from an Instructional Design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 6(4), 50-72.
Morrison, G. R., Ross, S. M., Kalman, H. K., & Kemp, J. E. (2011). Designing Effective Instruction (6th ed.).
Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons.
Smith, M. K. (2002). Malcolm Knowles, informal adult education, self-direction and andragogy. The
encyclopedia of informal education. Retrieved from http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-
knowl.htm#andragogy