California's Sonoma State School of Business and Economics has announced that it will launch a Sonoma County cohort of its EMBA program aimed at the wine industry.
The Sonoma County cohort of the Wine Executive MBA program will meet every other week for two days on Sonoma's home campus. Previous cohorts of the Wine Executive MBA program, which launched in 2012, have met in Napa Valley, once a week. The new schedule will make it easier for participants to commute in from around the wine region, according to a statement from the school.
The program features a strong, holistic focus on the wine industry. "Today's wine business is increasingly complex and global, so it requires a solid knowledge of things like business plans, sustainable operations, brand marketing, and how to develop and execute viable strategy in this environment," says John Stayton, Sonoma State's director of executive programs.
As such, the Wine Executive MBA program covers both essential business topics as well as courses that are focused on the wine industry. Classes include "Financial Statement Analysis," "Information and Wine Markets," and "Wine Distribution Strategies," among others.
Although the program is obviously aimed at people who are working in the area's wine region, there has been interest in the EMBA program "from across the U.S. and abroad," according to Sonoma State.
Sonoma State is one of a handful of business schools around the world that offer management programs in the wine business. Many of the others are in France: INSEEC offers an MBA Wine Marketing and Management, in cooperation with the Bordeaux International Wine Institute, for example; Kedge Business School offers an MBA major in Wine and Spirits Management.
In addition to the Wine Executive MBA program, Sonoma State also offers an online certificate in Wine Business Management, as well as other related executive education courses.
The Sonoma County cohort of the Wine Executive MBA is set to launch in March 2015. For more information, please see the Sonoma State press release announcing the new Wine Executive MBA Sonoma County cohort.
Image: Sonoma County Winery, Simon Davison / Creative Commons (cropped)
