A Comprehensive Professional Development Intensive for Participants Around the Globe
“I thought I had a solid grasp on the business of wine. However, after spending four intense, energizing and delightful days … I realized how much more there is to sip, swirl and soak in.”
Myrna Robles Couch, winemaker and vineyard manager at Hawk, Rock & Barrel.
A recent graduate of the innovative UC Davis Wine Executive Program, Couch says the program integrates business, science and connection in a distinctly UC Davis manner—supportive, forward-thinking and highly collaborative—with an international cohort from as far aways as Israel, Italy, Mexico, Missouri, Oregon, North Carolina—and many others like her from across California.
The intensive, four-day immersion focuses on the fundamentals of winemaking and business management practices designed for today’s challenging wine industry environment.
A unique partnership between the university’s nationally ranked Graduate School of Management (GSM) and world-renowned Department of Viticulture and Enology (V&E), this unique, interdisciplinary program was created to elevate wine industry knowledge for professionals all over the world.
V&E Professor David Block, the Marvin Sands Department Chair, said the curriculum offers an advantageous, complimentary set of skills to program participants.
“That combination is something that would be really hard to find somewhere else,” Block confirms. “The students that come to this program are really able to get both the strong technical background for viticulture and enology and strong business background from GSM. That unique combination allows them to be really creative in their jobs.”
In its 25-year history, the UC Davis Wine Executive Program has consistently attracted a broad mix of national and international participants. It is specifically tailored to middle and senior managers from wineries and vineyards of all sizes, industry suppliers, distributors, financial institutions, service providers and affiliated businesses.
“We’ve had over 1,000 people through the program (from) every winery you can think of, of any size in the U.S. and many from around the world,” notes Professor Emeritus Robert Smiley, of the management school, who founded the program, “We bring them together to experience a shared education at a level in the program (where) they could then be more effective managers.”
The 2026 UC Davis Wine Executive Program is now open for enrollment.
The program features two optional “boots camps” on financial statement analysis or viticulture & winemaking, as well as sessions on:
- Wine Branding
- Strategic Cost Management
- Data Driven Decisions
- Direct to Consumer
- Legal Aspects of the Wine Industry
- Vineyard of the Future
- Leading Well: Understanding Leadership in Context
In addition, the program offers participants a guided tour of the Platinum LEED-certified Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine & Food Science, a renowned teaching, wine cellar and vineyards research center.
“I realize it had been a long time since I’d been through a winemaking program and talked about the things we want to do to grow our winery,” reflects past participant Tim Harless, co-founder of Hat Ranch Winery. “I really needed some advanced information, finding out what the heart of the market and what the trends are. That’s one of the most important things I wanted to get out of this program.”
Perhaps one of the most compelling aspects of the in-person UC Davis Wine Executive Program experience is the unparalleled opportunity for collaboration and networking that persist long after the four days have passed.
“We concluded the week with a heartfelt graduation ceremony. We weren’t merely leaving with certificates; we were departing with confidence, a new community and a renewed sense of purpose in our field.”
Myrna Robles Couch of Hawk, Rock & Barrel.
For more information on the UC Davis Wine Executive Program and for $500 off on early bird registration, which ends January 31, 2026, go to:
https://na.eventscloud.com/website/89324/home/
