Niagara School in Ontario launches Beverage Enterprise Administration program

A new program from the pioneering Canadian Food and Wine Institute at Niagara College offers aspiring business leaders the perfect blend of the three trifectas of the science of beverage fermentation: wine, beer, and distillation.

Beverage Business Management is a one-year graduate certificate program that will be launched for the first time in Canada when it kicks off in September 2021. The new program is a further development of the college’s Wine Business Management program and provides students with in-depth business knowledge in all aspects of the alcoholic beverage industry – from retail and marketing to exports to the legal and regulatory environment.

“Beverage Business Management is a natural evolution of the growth in our program,” said Craig Youdale, dean of CFWI. “As the home of Canada’s first commercial training winery, first training brewery and first training distillery, we are excited to build on our established production-based programs for wine, brewing and distillation and to introduce our first expanded offering of all three beverage areas across the country. “

The new program aims to prepare graduates for entry into an increasingly hybridized beverage industry in which there is increasing overlap between wineries, breweries and distilleries. The wineries diversify into craft breweries, distilleries and ciders, and craft breweries expand their range to include spirits. At the same time, consumers are opting for a wider choice, as craft beers, spirits, and ciders often appear on tasting menus alongside wines.

“We see this trend worldwide and want to make sure that we meet this need. International students can also apply what they have learned in their home countries, ”said program coordinator Peter Rod. “It is the new normal to look for candidates who are ‘all-rounders’ with the most up-to-date skills and knowledge and are able to spin. Our graduates will be well positioned to do anything with knowledge from all three of these growing beverage industries. “

The program will take place on the Daniel J. Patterson Campus in Niagara-on-the-Lake, the only post-secondary facility in Canada that employs learning companies from all three beverage areas on campus as “living laboratories” for students, including teaching the College, serve winery, teaching brewery, teaching distillery and wine visitors + education center (retail).

“We are the only post-secondary facility in Canada that has the expertise in all three beverage areas on campus,” said Assistant Dean, CFWI Gary Torraville. “We have the facilities. We have the equipment. We have the experts. This is what makes the CFWI unique. “

The program is expected to attract professionals who wish to learn broader concepts about the business aspect of the beverage industry to get into management, as well as professionals who are intrigued by the industry and interested in a career. It’s also an opportunity for graduates of the college’s wine, beer, and distillation programs to build on their qualifications with a new business management graduation certificate that focuses on three sectors.

“While the business is built into our winery and winemaking, master brewer and brewer, and Artisan Distilling programs, they are more practical and production-based,” said Torraville. “By enrolling for the Beverage Business Management Certificate of Completion, students really have the opportunity to develop their passion and focus 100% on the business.”

The students learn the sensory evaluation of beer, spirits and wines; the legal and regulatory environment; and employee and financial sustainability for the beverage alcohol industry. You will also learn the basics of beverage alcohol production, innovative sales and marketing, supply chain management, quality assessment, strategic market and brand analysis, and business innovation and entrepreneurship. The program ends with a research / graduation project where students address a problem in the liquor, beer, or wine business by teaming up with an industry partner or using real-world case studies.

Registration is currently in progress for the Beverage Business Management program, which has a capacity of 40 students for the first fall semester admission. Interested parties can take part in a virtual campus tour, book an online information session, request program information or contact NC.

Niagara College offers more than 130 graduate, undergraduate, and advanced programs. as well as more than 600 part-time courses covering credit, professional, and general interest. Specialty areas include food and wine science, advanced technology, media, applied community health and safety, supported by unique learning companies in food, wine, beer, distillation, horticulture and aesthetics. Visit niagaracollege.ca for more information.