By Jeffrey Gangemi

Miguel Angel Perez Lloria, a 2005 MBA graduate of the Instituto de Empresa, grew up on a vineyard near Valencia in eastern Spain. Like many Spanish winemakers, his family lacked an effective method of exporting and marketing their wine. To address this problem, Lloria, along with three classmates who were seeking to enter the wine industry, decided to start a new company called Smart Wine Selections, which specializes in marketing Spanish wine in the U.S.

Smart Wine Selections aims to capitalize on Spain's status as the world's third-largest wine producer, as well the juicy market in the U.S., where consumption is increasing by about 4% annually. "Spain has been called the sleeping giant of wine-producing countries," says Lloria, who says the export environment desperately needs help. "And we aim to take advantage of that."

BETTER THAN BEER?  Lloria and his partners are not alone in recognizing the business opportunities that the wine industry offers. In 2005 wine overtook beer as the most common alcoholic beverage consumed in the U.S. The U.S. is predicted to surpass Italy and France as the largest consumer of wine in the world by 2010. Per capita, U.S. consumption of wine was up by over 9.5% from 1997 to 2001, according to the Wine Institute, a trade association of California wineries.

Not only U.S. consumption is increasing: The wine business is poised for continued growth worldwide. As more MBAs learn to appreciate wine for its flavor and complexity, they have also noticed fertile ground for business opportunities and a slower-paced lifestyle than they would have with traditional MBA careers.

CALIFORNIA DREAMING.  Naturally, some California schools are noted for wine-industry hopefuls. At UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business, student interest was so high that they succeeded in convincing the administration to offer a course called "Wine Industry," with speakers from different parts of the wine world.

The student-run course has been offered consecutively since 1997. The UC Davis Graduate School of Management is home to one of the world's best programs, covering viticulture, the cultivation of wine grapes, and enology, the science that deals with wine and winemaking. Its close proximity to the Napa Valley wine industry makes it the ideal place for students interested in the wine industry, says Bob Smiley, professor of management at UC Davis and director of the school's wine programs.

To train the next generation of wine industry executives, a group of MBA programs around the world joined together to offer the only international wine EMBA program. Launched in 2002, anchored by the Bordeaux School of Management in France, and with class meetings at La Universidad Catolica in Chile, UC Davis in the U.S., and the University of South Australia (see BW Online , 1/23/02, "The Wine MBA's First Vintage"), it was designed to keep industry folks abreast of international trends and best practices.

GETTING CLUBBY.  Another sign of the times: wine clubs keep getting more popular with B-school students. The Wine Club at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business for example, claims over 400 of the program's 1,000 students as members. And they wine clubs are popping up at more schools every year. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Kenan-Flagler School of Business and Georgetown McDonough School of Management have recently inaugurated new clubs.

Though still dedicated to wine tastings and other events, wine clubs at many B-schools have taken on new roles. They now host industry experts, along with social events, to help their members get a feel for the industry. "There are definitely people in the club looking to get into the business of wine," says Teddy Cha, second-year student at the University of Chicago business school and co-chair of the school's wine club. "There are wineries and brands that come to [Chicago] to recruit."

Visits by industry professionals, for both recruiting and tastings, help MBAs to understand the intricacies of a rapidly growing industry, as well as the possible career opportunities within it. A rash of acquisitions has created the first real industry powerhouses: Constellation Brands (STZ ) and E. & J. Gallo Winery, a private, family-owned company, at $4.1 billion and $3 billion respectively. Both have launched aggressive marketing campaigns, and now recruit MBA students. Gallo focuses on Midwest schools like the University of Michigan Ross School of Business, Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management, and the Chicago GSB, says Rob Donoho, senior director of wine and grape supply for Gallo. Constellation, which is located in upstate New York near Rochester, has hired three University of Rochester Simon Graduate School of Management graduates since 2001.

Continued on next page>>  | 1 | 2