I heard that the University of Bologna now offers an MBA program in Food and Wine. I think this is really interesting. Does anybody know of similar programs in the US?

Sonoma State in northern California has wine EMBA program. I think the most famous wine program is in Bordeaux, though.

Interesting. Sonoma in Calfornia makes a lot of sense. I'll also look into Bordeaux.

Thanks for the tips!

Yes, the program in Bologna is offered by Alma Graduate School. I'm an American and currently a student there for the Design, Fashion & Luxury Goods program. 2011-2012 will be the 1st year for this international program, but they have been running a Master's program focused on this topic in Italian for many years now.

The program will have some core MBA courses, that all of the international MBA programs are required to take (Financial Accounting, Corporate Finance, etc.), but the other two terms focus solely on the food and wine industries. There will be high level executives from many leading Italian companies speaking on topics relevant to the industry.

There are many scholarships available up to full-tuition, and there are even some earmarked specifically for American students, so it is definitely worth applying. In addition to scholarships, there are honor loans available to all admitted students that cover up to full tuition (minus any scholarships received) and ?10k to cover living expenses. This is something no other program can offer you! In addition to the great relationships the school has with many leading firms, the guaranteed loans made it a no-brainer when deciding to attend. It would have been more of a hassle for me to go to a school in the States, and I would not have had the specialization I wanted or any of the wonderful experiences I am having here. Check it out. PM if you have any questions.

http://www.almaweb.unibo.it/it/almags/education/dettaglioMaster.plp?idContentIndirizzo=39131

Great, thank you for the helpful information. I was originally looking at the Design & Fashion program at Bologna and that's when I stumbled across the Wine MBA, which I thought was interesting. But I'll definitely look into the website and see what they're offering. I'm an American, too, so the scholarship thing is a plus. Thanks again for the encouragement.