The Fundamentals of Wine Business 

The 'Fundamentals of Wine Business' course is designed for an advanced understanding of basic marketing principles as they apply to the wine industry. Topics include the current trends in the industry, branding strategies, digital marketing, the value of the story, tips for converting visitors to customers. Whether you are a current winery owner, a wine entrepreneur, a winemaker or viticulturist, a tasting room employee, a wine event manager, or a prospective winery owner/ employee, this course is designed to provide the knowledge and business acumen necessary to grow your career in the wine business.

Licensing and Compliance in the Wine Industry

This course is designed to introduce participants interested in operating and/or owning a winery and/or vineyard to the myriad of legal issues involved in the production, sale, and distribution of wine. The course will build upon the introductory Legal Aspects in the Wine Industry course, to take a more focused look at a winery's reporting obligations. Course content will frame the legal concepts and issues and provide participants with the framework to research specific laws and regulations that affect their vineyard and winery business. By the conclusion of this course, participants will possess a practical library of resources and strong working knowledge of how to satisfy an operator's legal reporting requirements.

Wine Distribution 

The ‘Wine Distribution Management’ course is designed for an advanced understanding of wine
distribution operations. The course is designed to provide a viewpoint of wine distribution from
the perspective of a winery, a distributor and a retailer. Upon completion of the course,
students will have greater knowledge for advancing a professional career in the general wine
business or wine distribution.

The course content is useful for wine entrepreneurs considering a career in wine wholesale or
brokering. The content is also useful for winery owners, tasting room employees, winemakers,
viticulturists, wine event managers, and wine consumers wishing to advance their knowledge of
wine distribution management and the wine supply chain.

Digital Marketing & eCommerce in the Wine Industry

This fully online, asynchronous course explores the tools and strategies used in digital marketing, with a focus on building strong customer relationships through marketing communications. Students will examine the evolving, social media-driven marketing environment and learn how internet-based technologies are reshaping how businesses connect with their audiences. Key topics include the foundations of digital marketing and e-commerce, customer engagement strategies, email marketing, marketing analytics, and the development and management of e-commerce stores. By the end of the course, participants will also understand how to foster customer loyalty in an online setting. Instruction is delivered through a centralized course site, which includes lectures, readings, multimedia resources, assignments, and communication tools to support learning and interaction.

Basics of Accounting for Wine Business

This introductory course provides a foundational understanding of accounting and finance principles as they apply to the wine industry. Designed for students without prior accounting experience, the course focuses on practical financial concepts rather than transactional accounting or debits and credits. Participants will learn how to interpret financial statements, apply cost accounting techniques, manage budgets and forecasts, and assess performance using key financial indicators. The curriculum also covers industry-specific topics such as depreciation, regulatory compliance, financing options, and the use of financial software tools. Emphasis is placed on real-world applications to prepare students for the financial decisions and challenges commonly faced in wine business operations. A general interest in the wine industry and basic business knowledge will enhance the learning experience.

Tasting Room Management 

This course will explore all aspects of managing a winery tasting room. It will cover topics such as tasting room "look and feel," merchandising, customer service, customer relationships, sales opportunities, sensory evaluation, staff training and the importance of leadership. The focus will be on customer service, customer engagement, and sales opportunities. 

Wine Club Management

This course is designed to develop a deeper understanding of the building blocks of modern wine clubs, what works and where it works.  We will be covering the best practices of operating a wine club and identifying how to improve business practices to increase the revenue potential for your current wine club or how to build net new wine clubs for success.  This class is hyper-focused on revenue development and process improvement of wine club builds and wine club pre-processing.