85274 - Winery Management: a Professional Approach

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course, students will have acquired knowledge of the three pillars of management: 1) Organizational Management of the winery, which includes family or functional corporate structures (e.g., cooperatives), interpersonal relationships or relationships within intercompany work groups, and external relations with institutions, service companies, and the market; 2) Winery Management, which includes all the IT tools needed to plan winery activities; ensure the proper execution of production processes for primary transformation, refinement, stabilization, and packaging; properly manage purchasing and inventory, logistics, and transportation; correct interpretation of the strengths and weaknesses of wines and raw materials, and the relationship between sensory perception and laboratory analysis; 3) Economic Management, which includes a simplified analysis of the company's balance sheet and chart of accounts for proper cost accounting.

Course contents

1. The organisational and functional structure: the organisational chart - the job descriptions - the job schedule and responsibilities, company policy. Conduct and management methods in the various corporate forms. The function of the oenologist in management and the opportunities offered by the labour market
2. Work organisation: personnel management, work group dynamics, leadership - conflict management and resolution.
3. Cellar management at harvest time: grape management - winemaking protocols - The mass balance regulatory and operational management tool
4. Quality control: laboratory organisation - the control plan - the functions of VALORITALIA - tasting in quality control
5. Management of work protocols for the production of white, red, and rosé wines in their various commercial forms. The Fourth Color
6. Red Wine Management: Analysis of the facilities and management of the various operational processes - Winemakers, strengths and weaknesses of the various patents on the market. Evolution and diversification of wines - Organic
7. Winemaking Aging Management: The function of containers: steel, wood, cement, amphora, cocciopesto, stoneware
8. Cellar practices and methods for managing adjuvants: Acidity regulators - proteins - tannins - preservatives - antioxidants - clarifying agents - stabilizers - activators and sequestering agents - enzymes - winemaking practices - regulatory, technical, and economic constraints.
9. Wine Stabilization: Physical, Chemical, Natural. New Technologies.
10. Bottling Management: Control and Management of Plants. Bottling and Packaging Materials: Glass - Labels - Corks - Capsules - Boxes. Product Management Warehousing, Logistics, Services: Technical and Economic Aspects.
11. Present and Future Scenarios: Socio-cultural Aspects of Wine - Wine Tourism and Multi-Functionality, New Opportunities for the Winery - Company Communication
12. Tools; Management Control: Cost Allocation, Budget and Final Reports - Reports. Financial Statement Elements Helpful for Strategic Decisions and Corporate Sustainability. Introduction to Statistics Applied to Defining Winery Operational and Organizational Standards and Variance Analysis

Readings/Bibliography

Il materiale è costituito dai documenti messi a disposizione degli studenti direttamente dal docente prima delle lezioni e dai libri di testo e letture consigliate:

• J.Ribereau Gayon – E. Peynaud – P.Sudraud – P.Ribereau Gayon - Trattato di di scienza e tecnica enologica. ED.: AEB
  • Vol.1 – Analisi e controllo dei mosti e dei vini
  • Vol.2 – Caratteri dei vini, maturazione dell’uva, lieviti e batteri
  • Vol.3 – La vinificazione, le trasformazioni del vino
  • Vol. 4 – Chiarificazione e stabilizzazione del vino

• Charles T. Horngren – George Foster – Srikant M. Dator – Contabilità per la Direzione.ED. ISEDI

Terry Hill – Il management della produzione - ED. FRANCO ANGELI

Teaching methods

The course consists of 40 hours of lectures held at the Tebano campus. Lectures are taught using computers and a video projector. The materials provided—helpful to encourage students' proactivity through practical cellar management—include Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and PDF files. A dedicated computer program will be available for managing cellar records, a key element of traceability and institutional control of the winery. Students will thus have access to a wide range of operational tools, developed through the instructor's thirty-plus years of experience with medium- and large-scale cooperative and private wineries. Approximately 30% of the classroom time will be complementary to the teaching component and dedicated to tasting finished, semi-finished, and unfinished wines to identify strengths and weaknesses, correction methods, and potential development, refinement, and stabilization. Adjuvants, additives, and descriptions of permitted winemaking practices will be used to complete the practical knowledge and quality control program.

Assessment methods

The final exam consists of an oral exam designed to assess the achievement of the learning objectives and the candidate's ability to clearly understand the critical points and strengths of proper technical and financial management of a winery. The evaluation will focus on the candidate's logical-deductive approach and the ability to demonstrate competence, decision-making skills, independent judgment, and creativity in the future winemaker's operational activities.

Teaching tools

Approximately 30% of classroom time will support the teaching component and be dedicated to tasting finished, semi-finished, and unfinished wines to identify strengths and weaknesses, correction methods, and possible evolution, refinement, and stabilization. In addition to the textbooks, industry-specific texts and magazines will be recommended for further study and refresher courses. The goal is to prepare winemakers for the dynamics of the winery, making them not only experts in their own production but also competent in planning and managing personnel, operations, logistics, and services, and highly attentive to market dynamics. Finally, they will be capable of consistent and timely management control.

Office hours

See the website of Cleto Pirazzoli