Two new wine degree courses launched

Two new wine degree programmes have been launched this year, one offered by the Sonoma State University and the other by NEOMA Business School in France.

The Wine Business Institute, part of the school of business and economics at Sonoma State University, has launched a new bachelor’s degree programme in partnership with Santa Rosa Junior College.

Due to start in the autumn of 2020, the programme, which allows Santa Rosa Junior College viticulture students to transition to Sonoma State, will be held over four years.

Santa Rose students can complete their general elective and wine production coursework to earn an associate’s degree, before transferring to Sonoma State to get their bachelor’s. This will work both ways, with students doing business administration courses with a concentration in wine business strategies at Sonoma able to enrol in Santa Rosa enology and viticulture courses.

Dr. Kevin Sea, director of the Wine Studies program at Santa Rosa, said: “The transition program serves the needs of both students and employers. It provides the educational roadmap and curriculum expansion students seek and produces graduates who possess comprehensive knowledge of both the business and production of wine.”

Meanwhile NOEMA Business School is launching a master’s degree in wine and gastronomy.

Held over 15 months, the programme will be taught in English with a focus on marketing, and the characteristics of the food, wine and spirits markets. It will combine the fields of strategy, branding, food economics, agri-business, and business development.

Due to start at the beginning of the 2020 academic year, the course will be based at the school’s Reims campus.

Nathalie Spielmann, head of the MSc Wine & Gastronomy, said: “This programme will allow future graduates to develop a solid 360° vision, while mastering the codes of these sectors sufficiently to react to the unexpected with relevance and performance. Also, this is an appropriate solution for leaders in this market who are looking for professionals who combine marketing skills, sector culture and critical thinking.”

Delphine Manceau, dean of NEOMA Business School, added: “In constant evolution, the wine and gastronomy sectors combine traditional know-how and luxury codes with profound changes linked to digital technology. The originality of this programme is to think of the customer experience in its entire gustatory dimension by associating tradition and innovation whilst also taking into account the most recent evolutions of these sectors.”

The course will be available at a cost of €16,900 and starts in September.