HRTM student explores wine, food industry in Italy
This summer, New Mexico State University student Cordell Pacheco traveled more than 6,000 miles and crossed an ocean to learn about the wine and food industry in a way few students have experienced.
Pacheco, a senior in NMSU’s School of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management, based in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, received a scholarship from the family-owned wine company Banfi Vinters to participate in a seven-day educational tour of Italy. He was the only student from New Mexico to participate in the trip from May 26 to June 2.
Pacheco was part of a group of hospitality students from 13 colleges in the United States and Ireland, including Cornell University, Auburn University, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and the Culinary Institute of America, who immersed themselves in Italian food culture and visited prominent Italian wine producers in Strevi, Acqui Terme, Verona, Montalcino, Siena and Rome.
Bill Whiting, director of wine education for Banfi, and Elizabeth Koenig, director of hospitality for Banfi, led the tour, officially called the Banfi Scholastic Tour, which occurs every other year.
“The Banfi Vintner Foundation sponsors this trip to expose top food and beverage students to the depth of the wine and food industry in Italy,” said HRTM Director Jean Hertzman, who also participated in the trip.
For Pacheco, visiting Italy was a learning experience that enhanced his understanding of the wine industry. The trip exposed him to all facets of wine production, including grape cultivation, and introduced him to wine varieties he had never tasted before.
“The trip surpassed my expectations,” he said. “We had a chance to explore every aspect of wine. I got to see the grapes; how they are harvested; the aging process; and the way the oak (for barrels) is treated. This was very important to me because I want to better understand viticulture.”
One of highlights of the trip, Pacheco said, was visiting the Castello Banfi winery in Montalcino, where he toured a wine production and storage facility. The day finished with a five-course gala dinner, during which time Pacheco and Hertzman were inducted into the prestigious Amici di Castello Banfi group. Their names are now on the Banfi Honor Roll displayed at the winery.
Throughout the trip, Pacheco and the other participants dined on multi-course meals dinner featuring indigenous and seasonal foods of each of the regions they visited, such as pastas with porcini mushrooms and truffles, cheeses, prosciutto di Parma, salumis and Florentine steak.
“Going to these places allowed me to better understand the process of producing a bottle of wine and all the interdependent relationships the company has formed with the producers and residents,” he said.
He said meeting so many wine experts, including Banfi founder and owner John Mariani, and students who are as passionate about food and beverage as he is, left a lasting on impression on him. Now, he wants to pursue a career in the wine industry.
“After this trip, I re-evaluated what I want to focus on as I continue to pursue my degree,” he said. “I realized that I want my future job after graduation to be something dealing with wine – whether it’s working out in the vineyard or being the distributor.”
Pacheco, who will graduate with a bachelor’s degree in HRTM in May 2020, transferred to NMSU after earning an associate degree in culinary arts from Santa Fe Community College. He has worked at several restaurants in Santa Fe and the Las Cruces Convention Center. He also is the food and beverage lab assistant for HRTM.
This summer, he completed an internship at the Hyatt Regency Tamaya in Bernalillo, where he practiced some of what he learned during his trip to Italy.
“This trip absolutely helped me in my professional career,” he said.
