An accountant who is fascinated by the business of wine.

Isn’t that fascinating?

Recently, I discovered the opportunity to gain a greater understanding of vineyards, wineries, and the wine business in general by studying for my Wine Business Management Certificate through Sonoma State University in California.

This certificate was inspired by the Sonoma State University Wine Business MBA, and my reason for taking this course is an utter fascination with this entire market. I’m keen to learn more about it, and hopefully to work with those in the vineyard and estate markets, so I can apply this knowledge in a useful (and interesting) manner.

Naturally having the opportunity to taste test a variety of excellent wines is a bonus!

I wanted to share some of what the Wine Business Management Certificate is all about, simply because it’s an area of such interest to me – and so you can follow my journey from being interested in the wine business through to having a solid marketing and finance knowledge of this industry, so I can better help small businesses who specialize in wine.

There are several key areas we’ve been studying as I work towards my certificate:

  • Business issues associated with viticulture and winemaking
  • Traditional business functions of strategy in building a wine business
  • eCommerce
  • Supply chain management
  • Wine commerce and trade including 3-tier distribution and Direct to Consumer
  • Wine marketing and sales
  • Cost analysis, quality management and value creation

After I’ve passed all three levels and the certification exam, I’ll have my certificate….and hopefully I can begin traveling around to various wineries!