Brian Noack, MPS Student

Bachelor of Science, Microbiology, University of Miami

Juris Doctor, Indiana University – Bloomington

Favorite Wines: Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, Reisling, Nebbiolo, Chardonnay

 

Brian studied microbiology in undergrad but it took him a while to figure out how to make a career out of it. After practicing intellectual property and alcoholic beverage law for a few years, Brian found himself spending more and more of his free time going down an enological rabbit hole. One day it finally occurred to him that someone gets to make wine for a living, and that he could be that person.

After quitting his job and moving from Chicago to work harvest in Healdsburg, Brian fell in love with winemaking (and met his wife!) and spent the next few years working harvests in Napa, Sonoma, and Hawkes Bay, New Zealand. As he gained more and more practical knowledge about winemaking, it became clear that formally studying winemaking would help him to make higher quality wine and become a better winemaker. Brian is now pursing his MPS degree and plans to continue working his way up to a winemaker role after he graduates. Brian feels unbelievably lucky to be a part of such an amazing industry and is relishing the opportunity to learn as much as possible while at Cornell.

Current Research Focus: Many winemakers feel strongly that they can taste a difference between the various acids in wines (e.g., malic tastes like green apple, citric tastes like citrus). My research focus will be on whether this is possible, or if the difference between acids is simply due to differing proton concentrations.