Growing thirst for wine business courses

Business students are developing a thirst for wine courses, with careers in the financial sector having lost their sheen due to the recession.

As reported by the Financial Times, specialist courses in wine management are broadening their scope and increasing their intake of students as demand rises across Europe and beyond.

Bordeaux-based business school Inseec is planning wine marketing courses in Mandarin at universities in Beijing and Shanghai. In addition, it is seeking a partner in California and opening an offshoot in Beaune.

“The biggest spirits player commands only 2% of the market. The need to build brands and gain market insights is crucial. In this industry marketing is the management process,” Jean-François Ley, director of Inseec’s wines and spirits division, told the FT.

As well as undergraduate course, Inseec offers one-year MBAs in wine marketing and management; spirits marketing and management; and luxury brand management with a focus on food and wine taught partly in London.

Meanwhile, the renowned Burgundy School of Business in Dijon launched a School of Wine & Spirits Business last September.

The school also started an MSc in wine business in 2008 and an €11,480 MSc in wine management in 2012, which offers an optional six-month internship.

The number of students at the school rose by 30% this year, which director Jérôme Gallo puts down to the industry’s annual growth rate of 5%. The school is also experiencing strong demand for wine education from China.

Closer to home, Plumpton College in Sussex offers a two-year foundation degree and a three-year BA degree in wine business.