It used to be the prerogative of the wealthy and elite, but wine drinking now attracts a wide range of consumers. But the growth in the business has not been mirrored by an increase in business programmes to help winemakers capitalise on fresh markets.
People believe that if they make a great wine, it will sell, explains Ray Johnson, director of the Sonoma State University’s Wine Business Institute in California. “The industry has had a production bias for a century. Making good wine is not enough any more.”
Larry Lockshin, professor of wine marketing at the University of South Australia, points out that universities are slow at meeting demand. “Winemaking is the glamorous course.”