The “Professional Development Seminars” catalogue at Sonoma State for fall 2008 was released this week. For anyone living in or near Sonoma County it’s a tremendous resource. This is especially true if you’re interested in starting a winery or if you’re looking to make a move into the wine business.

Each seminar costs $150.00 and generally runs for half a day. All classes are held in Schultz room 1121, just inside the library.

Below is a list of the classes on offer. I’ll note which I’ve had the pleasure of attending in the past year or so and give them a letter grade.

At the bottom of the page is a short poll. I have enough time in my schedule to attend 2 classes this November and I intend to report extensively on what I learn, right here on the blog. I’ll list my top 4 choices and let you folks vote to decide which 2 of the 4 I’ll attend.

Hopefully this will benefit those of you not in Northern California, or those who lack the time but wish they could attend.

Should be fun! On to the classes…

Monthly Reporting for Federal Compliance
Instructor: David Lose.

I took this class several years ago and it seems that David is still teaching the class today. At a low level David will show you how to do the mechanical work required for Federal complaince, but the high level stuff and the Q&A with a formal ATF inspector is the real value of the course. I walked away absolutely sure that it was worth while to hire a compliance expert. But I also walked away knowing how to talk to such an expert with at least a bedrock of Federal compliance knowledge.

Grade: B+ – If you already have a compliance expert you trust, this isn’t really a crucial skill set or body of knowledge. However, if you want to understand all the vagaries of the wine business and you own you own brand, this is a great opportunity to gain some much needed insight from someone who has been on the other side.

Pricing Wine
Instructor: Steven Cuellar

From the course notes:

This course will cover the pricing of wine from basic theory to applications using modern statistical techniques and actual wine data. Through hands on exercises participants will be given the opportunity to explore various methods for determining optimal prices for their wines.

I haven’t taken this class as it is a new offering. The instructor is an Assoc. Professor of Econ at Sonoma State, so the material presented should be fairly rigorous. However I’m always wary of claims that the optimal price for anything can be known without lots of testing in the actual marketplace. Perhaps that is precisely what Dr. Cuellar intends to show attendees how to do, but in that case the class holds little value to someone with a new brand with no market history.

Moreover, using past/current pricing data to choose the price point for your bottle of wine has one huge disadvantage: you are following your competitors in your market instead of leading.

Seth Godin made an idea about pricing famous, and it has to do with being remarkable. One way to be remarkable, he argues, is to be the highest priced in your niche, or the lowest priced. Since being remarkable is the surest way to sales success, using your price is an attractive and legitimate way to achieve that goal. It also has the benefit that it doesn’t take fancy statistics for you to figure out where you need to price your wine. Either aim high, or aim really low. Yes, it’s true, people aren’t rational.

There are other ways to make your brand remarkable, but if price is one of your main options pricing your product at the same level as everyone else is the “safe” play. And paradoxically, in today’s market the “safe” play is actually the highest risk play there is.

Grade: Incomplete (haven’t yet attended)

Introduction to Tasting Room Management
Instructor: Jil Child

Here is another case where I think the Q&A session during and after the class will be the most valuable part of attending.

Jil has a wealth of knowledge and experience and will be joined by several other local tasting room managers who will share their insights.

Again though, you will not learn anything at the class other than what most other wineries are already doing. This can be hugely helpful and illuminating, make no mistake. But to really make an impact and be remarkable, to stand out from your peers, you’ll need to do something new. Something different. Unfortunately there’s no class for that.

With that caveat in mind, this looks like a pretty interesting class.

Grade: Incomplete (haven’t yet attended)

Advanced Wine Brand Development
Instructor: Paul Novak

A class on longer term brand planning with case studies. It’s another new class that I’ve yet to attend and is one of the 4 on the list below.

Here’s the blurb:

As a wine branding “guru” Paul Novak has few peers. In this advanced class on wine brand development, our instructor will explain how your long-term brand vision can be managed towards success. The brand plan is the key tool for precisely defining desired positioning, anticipated competitive stance and pricing and distribution strategies among others. The brand plan in combination with a thorough understanding of consumer’s perspectives will set the stage for increased success in marketing and sales execution. Paul will also share with the class case studies that will demonstrate how these principles can be applied.

Grade: Incomplete (haven’t yet attended)

Working the Channel: A Professional Selling Workshop
Instructors: James Haug, Ray Johnson, and Larry Van Aalst.

Blurb:

This professional selling workshop, explores the basics of selling from your first contact through follow-up and service. Learn the intricacies of effective communication and gain a new appreciation for asking questions.

This is yet another new class, and it seems like it would be a good one for both a new salesperson or a new brand owner or manager with litlle wine sales experience. Since I’m intensely interested in Direct to Trade sales, I’ll be putting this one on the list below.

Grade: Incomplete (haven’t yet attended)

The Easy Way to Successful Direct Marketing
Instructor: Elizabeth Slater

Blurb:

The most important element of direct marketing – yes, even more important than the wine–is connecting potential and current customers with your brand, your business and your products. A key facet of connection is your story.

• Learn how to tell a compelling story that differentiates you from other wineries
• Develop a unique selling proposition for your wines and your winery
• Discover these and other methods of connection in an interactive and enthusiastic workshop that will increase direct sales through your tasting room, newsletters, wine clubs and other direct marketing strategies.

The title itself is misleading; direct is hard. There is no “easy” in direct. Compound that with the fact that tasting rooms, wine clubs and newsletters are all so incredibly basic and common that this class will likely do little to improve your chances to succeed at direct – at least using those tactics alone. Hopefully there will be a bunch of creative “other” in the “other direct marketing strategies” portion of the seminar.

Still, it will have value for those with little to no experience or knowledge of direct winery sales.

Grade: Incomplete (haven’t yet attended)

Marketing Your Wine to Fine Restaurants
Instructor: Bryan Bousquet

Blurb:

An experienced restaurant owner with a top-rated wine list will share her experiences in working with wineries to taste and select their wines. You will get practical tips for introducing your wines to restaurants and insights into what you can expect the next time you meet with the restaurant wine buyer. A panel of guests including restaurant owners, wine buyers and sommeliers will answer questions such as:

• How do you get your wine on the wine lists of fine restaurants?
• What do restaurateurs look for when they taste your wine?
• How do they construct their wine lists?
• What is the difference between wine by the glass and a listing on the main wine list?
• How is a wine judged to be food-friendly?
• What are the future trends for wine lists in fine restaurants?
• What are consumers buying and why?

I’d taken this class before when local treasure Bill Traverso used to teach it. Traverso was very no-nonsense and down to earth in his approach. He did his best to dissuade pie-in-the-sky wannabe producers like me from being shortsighted in how we approach wine shop and restaurant placements. Bottom line: don’t get into this business so you can brag to your friends that your juice is on the wine list at the local trendy white table cloth or snooty wine shop. You need a sales plan, a brand strategy and great juice. Not much room in that equation for pure ego plays.

Also, don’t drop in on wine buyers without an appointment, don’t expect immediate feedback, and understand just how much wine these buyers have to taste each month. When you compare that with the available shelf space it’s not a pretty ratio.

The new instructor, Bryan Bousquet, will bring his wine buying experience and perspective from Mirepoix to the table, and as always real world feedback is extremely valuable. This one will be on the list as well.

Grade (previous instructor): A

Wine Labels: Protecting Your Trademarks and Designing Legal Labels
Instructors: Jay Behmke and Linda Fox

I learned A LOT from Jay Behmke in this class a couple years back. His advice was a tremendous help in getting our IP in order and this class is a must attend for anyone starting up a brand. Jay will show you step by step how to submit a label, name or any other trademark-able intellectual property to the USPTO. He also gives many useful tips on how to get your specific IP approved as well as what to avoid.

Jay also has the quirky habit of pronouncing merely so that it sounds almost like he’s saying “merrily.” I remember a lot of confused looks when he first said “primarily merely a surname.” Primarily merrily a surname? What? Good times.

I don’t have much to say about Linda Fox other than she was the person I used last year to get my permits, and we all know how that turned out. If you can’t say anything nice…

This one is a must attend for Behmke alone. He even took the time to answer some email of mine months after the class, and his reputation in the industry is impeccable. Highly recommended.

Grade: A-

So, Which Classes Should I Attend?

I’ll attend the top 2 vote getters and will report on the content of the class extensively here on the blog. Yes, you can vote twice.

Thanks for voting!