Rohnert Park, CA– Sonoma State University’s Wine Business Institute partnered with CSU San Marcos to video conference SSU’s popular Tasting Room Management Certificate seminars to Southern California over the past week. This collaboration gave the two CSUs an opportunity to share resources and knowledge across the state, while maintaining ease of access to wineries in their local wine regions.
As fully interactive seminars, video conferencing allowed participants to raise their hands at the CSUSM campus and have their questions answered at Sonoma State. “It was as if they were in the classroom,” said Jessica Heing, program coordinator of the Wine Business Institute at Sonoma State. The collaboration targeted wine industry professionals from Temecula Valley, which is only a half hour drive from CSUSM’s campus and is home to a growing region of more than 30 wineries.
In alignment with CSU efforts to be strategic in its service to the State of California and its key industries, San Marcos asked to tap the expertise that Sonoma State has as the global leader in wine business education, and SSU was happy to share its content. The video conferencing at CSUSM was a pilot program this semester; based on its success, SSU will look for partners at other campuses who wish to share wine business education with their regional wine industries.
Of the eight seminars required to earn the Tasting Room Management Certificate, four of the core seminars were delivered this week to CSU San Marcos’ campus. The seminars covered topics from state compliance for direct shipping to how to create successful winery events.
Everyone who took part in the four core seminars received a Certificate of Completion. Next fall, the participants will have the opportunity to teleconference four elective seminars to complete the entire Tasting Room Management Certificate.
Contact Jessica Heing, Jessica.heing@sonoma.edu or 707.664.3347 with questions.
About Sonoma State University’s Wine Business Institute
Sonoma State University’s Wine Business Institute is located in the heart of California wine country and was created through a public-private partnership between the university and the wine industry. Founded in 1996, it is the first program in the United States to offer undergraduate and graduate degrees focused exclusively on the business aspects of the wine industry. In addition to its academic programs the Wine Business Institute offers an array of seminars and certificates. Its faculty members are published experts, active researchers, and requested presenters on pressing industry topics. The Wine Business Institute operates within Sonoma State’s School of Business and Economics, a fully accredited AACSB institution. Learn more at sonoma.edu/winebiz.
About California State University San Marcos
California State University San Marcos combines the ambiance of a mid-sized, personal, modern campus with the unequaled value of the California State University. Since its founding in 1989, the campus has distinguished itself. Students benefit from the latest facilities and equipment, a superb faculty that enjoys teaching, and a rigorous academic program that prepares students for a successful life in and out of the workplace. A recent survey reported that our annual spending in the region was $161 million, generating a total impact of $307 million on the regional economy. 85 percent of CSUSM’s alumni stay in the region. CSU San Marcos is located on a 304-acre hillside overlooking the city of San Marcos. It is 15 miles east of the ocean; just 30 miles north of downtown San Diego. Learn more at csusm.edu.
