UC Davis Wine Executive Program
2010 Curriculum and Agenda

Presented by the

Graduate School of
Management


and

Department of Viticulture
and Enology


  Read what past attendees are saying

 


MARCH 21-25, 2010

BOOT CAMP KICK OFF: Sunday, March 21, 2010

Welcome and Dinner - 6:30 PM
  Season's
  102 F St., Davis
An escort from the Graduate School of Management will meet you in the lobby of the Hyatt Place Hotel to take you to the restaurant.

DAY ONE: Monday, March 22, 2010 - BOOT CAMP

MORNING

7:30 AM - 8:00 AM - Boot Camp Registration
    Gallagher Hall (Grand Foyer)
    UC Davis Campus

For the Boot Camp, attendees select one session, either “The Bottom Line: Accounting and Finance for Non-financial Managers” or “Grape Growing and Winemaking 101: The Fundamentals”.

8:00 AM - 12:00 NOON - BOOT CAMP

Group One
   Gallagher Hall (Ali Abbaszadeh Lecture Hall)
  
UC Davis Campus

THE BOTTOM LINE: ACCOUNTING AND FINANCE FOR NON-FINANCIAL MANAGERS
Instructor: Michelle Yetman, Associate Professor, Graduate School of Management

For individuals who have a good knowledge of vineyard and winemaking practices but want to improve their understanding of accounting and financial issues.

Introduction to accounting fundamentals and terminology, including balance sheets, income statements, cash flow statements and accrual accounting vs. cash flow. Discussion of key performance measures, including: return on equity; return on investment; operating margin; expense ratios taxes; working capital and asset turnover (receivables, payables, inventory); and financial leverage. Seminar will be presented within the context of the wine industry.

Group Two
   Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science
  
UC Davis Campus

GRAPE GROWING AND WINEMAKING 101: THE FUNDAMENTALS
Instructors: Doug Adams, Associate Professor, and Andrew Waterhouse, Professor and Chair, Department of Viticulture & Enology

For people who have substantial knowledge of accounting and financial issues but want to enhance their knowledge of vineyard and winemaking practices. This session will feature four interrelated segments.

I. Types of Grapes Used for Wine
   • Botany and ecology of Vitis vinifera, the European wine grape
   • Description of the most important wine grape varieties
   • Pests and diseases of Vitis vinifera

II. Growing Wine Grapes
   • Vine and fruit structure, and fruit composition
   • Environmental influences on vine growth and fruit characteristics
   • Vine management, pruning and cultural decisions

III. Wine Microorganisms and Fermentation

   • Characteristics of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in relation to winemaking
   • Physical, chemical and biological processes in alcoholic fermentation
   • Malolactic fermentation and spoilage organisms

IV. Making Table Wine

   • General winery operations
   • Making red, white and blush wines
   • Winemaking decisions

12:00 NOON - 1:15 PM - Lunch (Catered)

AFTERNOON

1:30 PM - 3:00 PM - Program Welcome
  Gallagher Hall (Ali Abbaszadeh Lecture Hall)
  UC Davis Campus

BOOT CAMP ENDS

THE WINE INDUSTRY: A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
Instructor: Robert Smiley, Professor and former Dean, Graduate School of Management

An overview of the U.S. and international wine industries will be presented in addition to a discussion of recent developments regarding prices and popularity of different varietals. This session will conclude with a discussion of strategic considerations for wineries and vineyards.

3:00 PM - 3:15 PM - BREAK

3:15 PM - 5:00 PM - SESSION
  Gallagher Hall (Ali Abbaszadeh Lecture Hall)
  UC Davis Campus

STAY OUT OF THE RED: FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT OF WINERIES AND VINEYARDS
Instructor: Robert Yetman, Professor, Graduate School of Management

Overview of the basic financial principles involved in the evaluation of investment projects. The basic concepts covered will include: risk and return relationships; cost of capital (hurdle rates and internal rates of return); net present value; the costs and benefits of debt financing; and acquisitions. Participants will apply these concepts in a mini-case about a winery.

5:00 PM - SESSIONS END FOR THE DAY

EVENING

5:30 PM - Bus Departs for Davis (Front of Hotel)
   An escort from the Graduate School of Management will meet you in the lobby of the hotel at the concierge desk at 5:15 p.m. & will accompany you on the bus.

6:00 PM - Tour of Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science
  
Please meet in front of the Robert Mondavi Institute for the tour.

6:45 PM - Bus Departs for Chancellor's Residence
  
A bus/tram will meet you in front of the Robert Mondavi Institute to take you to the Chancellor’s Residence

7:00 p.m. - Reception at Chancellor's Residence

7:30 p.m. - Dinner at Chancellor's Residence

8:45 p.m. - Dinner Concludes & Bus Departs for Hyatt Place Hotel

9:00 PM - Bus Arrives at Hyatt Place Hotel


DAY TWO: Tuesday, March 23, 2010

MORNING

8:00 AM - 10:00 AM - SESSION
  Gallagher Hall (Ali Abbaszadeh Lecture Hall)
  UC Davis Campus

VINEYARD CHALLENGES: WINEMAKING FROM THE GROUND UP
Instructor: James Wolpert, Viticulture Extension Specialist, Department of Viticulture & Enology

An analysis of vineyard site evaluation and selection, including considerations such as soil, climate, water availability, slope and aspect and how these factors influence cost, other viticultural decisions and ultimately affect grape quality.

Long-term vineyard establishment decisions will also be discussed, including the selection of planting materials (rootstock, variety and clone), spacing, trellising and training, row orientation and the effects of these decisions on production costs and grape quality.

Seasonal management options and costs will be scrutinized for mechanization versus hand labor for valley and coastal production locations. Ends with an introduction to seasonal pest problems including Pierce’s Disease, mildew, Eutypa, nematodes and virus incompatibility issues.

10:00 AM - 10:15 AM - BREAK

10:15 AM - 12:00 PM - SESSION
  Gallagher Hall (Ali Abbaszadeh Lecture Hall) 
  UC Davis Campus

THE VINEYARD AND WINERY OF THE FUTURE
Instructors: David Block, Associate Professor, and James Wolpert, Viticulture Extension Specialist, Department of Viticulture & Enology

Vineyards and wineries face a number of challenges for successful operation in the future. Whether in the field or in the cellar, availability and cost of resources such as water, labor, worker safety, environmental regulation and minimization and recycling of wastes are just a few of the issues with which the winegrape industry must contend. This seminar focuses on strategic approaches to these concerns and problems.

12:00 NOON - 1:15 PM - Lunch (Catered)

AFTERNOON

1:30 PM - 4:30 PM - SESSION
  Gallagher Hall (Ali Abbaszadeh Lecture Hall) 
  UC Davis Campus, Davis, CA

CRUSHING THE COMPETITION: MARKETING FOR THE WINE INDUSTRY
Instructor: Jeremy Benson, President, Benson Marketing Group

This session will bridge the presentations before it (branding) and after it (legal). It will focus on public relations and advertising, important levers for building brands, and direct-to-consumer marketing opportunities, which have expanded dramatically with the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Granholm v. Heald
 
Participants will review what every wine industry company needs to consider when developing, launching and managing a winning PR strategy – staffing, case studies, the changing media landscape, and ROI metrics. We’ll discuss how and where advertising fits into the marketing mix, including the new media’s role in this dynamic environment. Finally, the session will review the key drivers of direct-to-consumer sales and marketing, including industry average metrics and new Internet technologies that are engaging consumers.

A summary of topics:

• Public Relations Strategy: Managing for Success, and
  Standing out in the Crowd
• Advertising: Where and Why, and How to Participate in
  its Evolution
• Direct Marketing: The Changing Face of Direct-to-Consumer
  Sales and Marketing

4:30 PM - SESSIONS END FOR THE DAY

EVENING

6:00 PM - 7:00 PM - Wine Tasting

7:00 PM -8:00 PM - Dinner
  UC Davis Conference Center

8:00 PM - 9:00 PM - PRESENTATION

TAPPING THE NETWORK OF INNOVATION
   
Andrew Hargadon, Professor, Graduate School of Management   


DAY THREE: Wednesday, March 24, 2010

MORNING

8:00 AM - 10:00 AM - SESSION
  Gallagher Hall (Ali Abbaszadeh Lecture Hall)
  UC Davis Campus

HOW TO SELL AN INNOVATIVE IDEA
Instructor: Kimberly D. Elsbach, Professor, Graduate School of Management

This one hour workshop helps participants to understand the art and science of selling innovative ideas to others - especially those in positions of power. Using a mini-lecture, role-plays, and video case, the workshop illustrates how to execute three key tactics important to selling ideas to others. Material in the workshop comes from social psychological research on upward influence tactics, as well as the facilitator's own field research on pitching ideas from Hollywood movie production and Silicon Valley venture capital projects.

10:45 AM - 11:00 AM - BREAK

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM - SESSION
  Gallagher Hall (Room 1213 – Ali Abbaszadeh Lecture Hall)
  UC Davis Campus

WHAT'S YOUR STORY? CREATING A WINE BRAND THAT STANDS OUT
Instructor: Brian Dunbar, President, MUH-TAY-ZIK | DUN-BAR

With more than 5,000 wine brands marketed in the U.S., it's critical to develop a brand that stands out from the crowd. This segment will help you understand how to develop a powerful brand story and how to communicate it consistently at all touch points with your customers. It explores the traits of successful brands in the wine industry as well as iconic brands from other categories. The importance of the emerging 'millennial' generation and other trends and opportunities in wine marketing will be discussed.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM - Lunch (Catered)

AFTERNOON

1:30 PM - 4:30 PM - SESSION
  Gallagher Hall (Ali Abbaszadeh Lecture Hall)
  UC Davis Campus

STRATEGIC COST MANAGEMENT IN THE WINE INDUSTRY
Instructor: Robert Yetman, Professor, Graduate School of Management

With the high degree of vertical integration often present in the wine industry, internal cost management is a particularly important, yet often overlooked, aspect of business practices. Recent (and looming) imbalances in supply and demand will cause successful businesses to use cost management as a competitive tool.

This seminar will discuss the sources of various costs, mechanisms for tracing and keeping track of costs, and designing and implementing strategic cost containment initiatives. Particular attention will be paid to the specifics of the wine industry. Brief cases covering growers, stand-alone wineries and vertically integrated wine businesses will be an integral part of the seminar.

4:30 PM - SESSIONS END FOR THE DAY

EVENING

6:30 PM - Dinner
  
Bistro 33
  226 F St, Davis


DAY FOUR: Thursday, March 25, 2010

MORNING

8:00 AM - 11:00 AM - SESSION
  Gallagher Hall (Ali Abbaszadeh Lecture Hall)
  UC Davis Campus

“CASE” STUDIES: LEGAL ISSUES IN THE WINE INDUSTRY
Instructor: Richard P. Mendelson, Attorney, Dickenson, Peatman & Fogarty

A discussion of the major legal issues facing the domestic wine and vineyard industries, beginning with a historical overview of the philosophy of regulating wines and spirits in the U.S., which is closely tied to the nation's experiences with Prohibition. The changing tides of 21st Amendment jurisprudence will be reviewed, including the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Granholm v. Heald and the pending case of Costco v. Hoen in Washington state.

Specific topics will include: direct shipping; the three-tier system of alcohol distribution and the related topics of franchise laws and tied-house restrictions; and wine labeling issues involving appellations and brand names, including the case of Bronco Wine Co. vs. State of California and the Napa Valley Vintners Association.

Current issues concerning vineyard development and winery establishment and expansion will also be addressed.

11:00 AM - 12:30 PM - Lunch (Catered)

AFTERNOON

12:30 PM - 2:30 PM - SESSION
  Gallagher Hall (Ali Abbaszadeh Lecture Hall)
  UC Davis Campus

VINEYARD OPERATIONS IN THE 21ST CENTURY:
UNDERSTANDING AND MANAGING THE SUBTLETIES OF GRAPE GROWING
Instructor: James Wolpert, Viticulture Extension Specialist, Department of Viticulture & Enology

A modern vineyard operation requires several critical components to be successful: an accurate assessment of risk(s); knowledge and control of costs; frequent and frank communication with wine grape buyers; and an astute understanding of its place in the market. These factors interact in a complex and dynamic way, and are influenced by geography (AVA - American Viticultural Area), the size of the vineyard(s), and the regional and statewide grape supply. A detailed discussion of these topics will be presented from a vineyard manager’s point of view.

2:30 PM - 4:30 PM - SESSION
  Gallagher Hall (Ali Abbaszadeh Lecture Hall)
  UC Davis Campus

MAXIMIZING QUALITY AND PROFITABILITY:
STRATEGIC DECISION-MAKING FOR WINEMAKER AND WINERY MANAGERS

Instructor: Alison Crowe, Winemaker - Plata Wine Partners, LLC

A practical look at wine-quality and production issues facing winemakers and winery managers and how to make decisions to maximize positive outcomes.  This interactive session will explore which winemaking techniques and treatments can yield real benefits and which ones may drain resources with little net gain. Attendees will apply a modified  S.W.O.T (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis to winemaking and winery management case studies, gaining insight into how to make production decisions that fit their organization’s quality and profitability goals.

4:30 - 5:00 PM  PROGRAM CLOSE

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