Twenty-five years ago, forward-thinking leaders envisioned a new kind of partnership between academia and the wine industry, and the resulting vision became the Wine Business Institute at Sonoma State University.
Founded in 1996 as a brainchild of Gary Heck of Korbel Champagne Cellars and Sonoma State, “we wanted to create a program that would prepare the next generation to run our businesses, a viable succession plan for the wine industry. Great grapes and great wine were already the norms. Professionalizing the business of wine was the next frontier to tackle,“ Heck says.
“Over the past 25 years, our faculty has built the most comprehensive suite of wine business education in the world with the support of our wine industry, generous donors, and board members,” noted Ray Johnson, WBI executive director. “Today, our alumni occupy positions of leadership across the wine industry value chain, in organizations large and small.”
Sonoma State’s School of Business and Economics is the first in the U.S. to offer an undergraduate degree (since 1998), an MBA (since 2008), an Executive MBA (since 2012), and a new Global EMBA (since 2020) focused on the business of wine.
In addition to the degree programs, the WBI offers professional certifications in subjects such as Wine Business Data Analytics, Wine Business Management, and Wine Entrepreneurship. The institute regularly brings together wine industry leaders to discuss the opportunities and challenges in the current landscape and those on the horizon.