Dr David Jaud said he was delighted with the outcome of the program

By Meg Riley

An executive business program designed to upskill wine professionals celebrated the graduation of its very first students at an intimate event in Adelaide last night. The program, The Art and Science of Sustainable Wine Business and Tourism, is a Great Wine Capitals initiative delivered by the University of Adelaide’s Business School.

The program was held in-person two days a week over a three-week period, to help wine industry professionals develop strategies for their digital communications, deliver engaging cellar door experiences and utilise the resources available to them.

Dr David Jaud, director of the Wine Business Program at the University of Adelaide, congratulated the 16 participants on their completion of the program.

“The connection formed between participants over these three weeks has been one of the key outcomes,” said Dr Jaud.

“This program represents the best of what a university, industry, and government partnership can offer: state of the art knowledge, real world relevance and a commitment to driving innovation through collaboration.”

Addressing the participants, Dr Jaud added: “Together, we explored best practices, cutting edge research and actionable strategies that will benefit not only your respective businesses, but also the broader South Australian wine and tourism sector.”

Matthew Kurko and Siubhan Wilcox, two recent graduates of the program, said they were extremely impressed with how much information was packed into the course.

Siubhan Wilcox is the chair of the Wine Tourism Committee in McLaren Vale and cellar door manager at Hardy’s Tintara, and she explained that the program emphasised the importance of knowing the value of your product, and how to market it.

“It covered all facets of the wine business side of it all,” she said. “…We had a lot of information, but you could pick and choose what you want and how you want to use it. At the end of the day, we all know we’ve got new resources to go to, and to ask questions, and we’ve got those new connections.”

Inca Lee, chief executive of the South Australian Wine Industry Association, delivered a speech on behalf of Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Clare Scriven, to mark the close of the program.

“Domestic and international customer preferences in wine and wine tourism experiences are changing rapidly,” she said. “The South Australian wine industry needs to be able to quickly identify and respond to new and emerging demands and expectations to keep customers engaged and to stay ahead of the game.”

“The aim of this program was to equip our wine industry professionals with best practice knowledge, to strengthen entrepreneurial mindsets, build brand reputation, develop engaging cellar door and tourism experiences and much more.”

“Being able to offer a program of this calibre to South Australians to build their professional skills is a wonderful contribution to the growth and development of our people and our state’s wine industry.”

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