THE WINE BUSINESS IN OREGON has seen tremendous growth since 2000—going from 122 wineries to over 700 wineries. As the wine industry grows, Oregon’s economy prospers as well, which can be a blessing…and a curse. The Oregon wine industry employs 10,000 people and predictions are for continued growth. With this growth comes the need for a trained workforce to support vineyards, wineries, and the overall business of wine and wine tourism.

That’s where Southern Oregon University comes in. Several years ago, Dr. Greg Jones, former professor at SOU and current Director of the Evanstad Center for Wine Education at Linfield College, and Al Silbowitz, owner of Grizzly Peak Winery, started talking about how SOU is ideally suited to serve the region’s wine industry. They witnessed how thriving wine regions are supported by educational programs at local community colleges and universities. In 2015, Jones worked with a group of business students to conduct a survey of regional wine businesses to find out if employment of qualified workers was a challenge that could hamper growth of the industry. A large majority of wineries noted that education in wine business, marketing, and tasting room management was critical. When asked if they would be supportive of a wine business program at SOU, nearly 100% responded positively. Hence, the Certificate in Wine Business was born.

Dr. Jones, founder of the program, described the certificate as “an opportunity to explore various aspects of the wine business from the history, geography, and environmental requirements of growing grapes, to the processes of making, bottling, and selling wine, to sensory evaluation techniques and communication about wine.”

Grizzly Peak Winery owner Al Silbowitz has been a member of the wine community since 2006. He has hired several SOU students as interns and has been delighted with each and every one of them. “They bring new ideas, enthusiasm, and a strong work ethic to the winery. They practice critical thinking, reasoning, and problem solving all the time in school, and they bring those habits to the workplace. They help us in everything we do.”

Students in the program have the opportunity to work with industry professionals including entrepreneurs, wine makers, marketing managers, wine experts and more. When asked how the certificate program serves the wine community, Pavlina McGrady, the certificate program coordinator explained, “Students complete an internship as part of the requirements of the program. Many of our students go on to volunteer at wineries and get full-time jobs with titles like tasting room sales representative, sales manager, advertising and social media coordinator, wine merchandiser, and event manager, just to name a few.”

David Kennaley, a graduate of the certificate program and intern at Grizzly Peak, was very excited about the program. “Not only have I learned more about the sensory aspects of wine tasting, but I have a better understanding of the wine industry from a business perspective.” Jarrett Fogelman, who now works at two wineries, Jaxon and Aurora, said the program helped spark a passion for the wine industry he didn’t know he had. “The instructors have extensive backgrounds in the wine industry, and they shared their excitement with the students in each class. Through this program, I was offered an amazing internship opportunity, which has now turned into a full-time job where I am doing sales, distribution and social media marketing.”

“Combining formal education with practical hands-on training at the university,” says Siblowitz, “is the best preparation for a job in this industry. It’s important for the academics to work with the people who get their hands dirty every day. The more trained people we have in the valley, the stronger our wine industry will be. We have a gem here in the valley, and we need to take care of it.”

To learn more about the Certificate in Wine Business, go to sou.edu/business/cwb or contact Pavlina McGrady at mcgradyp1@sou.edu.