What happens when you blend centuries of tradition with cutting-edge innovation and global strategy?
For business, strategy, or even sustainability students, wine offers more than a tasting. It becomes an industry case study waiting to be uncorked.
From Argentina’s sun-drenched vineyards to Portugal’s heritage estates and Italy’s luxury producers, Austral Group has designed immersive academic programs around one of the world’s most culturally rich and economically complex industries: wine.
While wine tourism often conjures images of tastings and beautiful views, our programs go much deeper.
In a recent program in Chile, Texas Tech students participated in a full enology-focused immersion called “Chile Uncorked: Savoring Success in the Thriving Wine Oasis.” They visited Casablanca Valley and engaged directly with producers like Viña Concha y Toro. The focus was on understanding winemaking as a business, complete with marketing challenges, supply chain insights, and global export strategies.
While traveling through Lisbon, undergraduate students from the University of Missouri’s Heartland Scholars program explored the cultural and entrepreneurial dimensions of each destination. In Portugal, a thoughtfully curated winery visit provided students with the opportunity to connect with local traditions and family-run business models. As Stacy Rohr, Program Coordinator for the University of Missouri – Business School, shared:
“Students had a great experience overall, especially in understanding and engaging with the local culture. Winery visit setup was great. The meeting with the grandson of the owner was very engaging.”
Meanwhile, MBA students from the University of Colorado Denver wrapped up their Italy immersion with a unique experiential session. As program leads Jill Lohmiller and Melissa Galvagni noted, “Wine Business Talk & Aperitivo – Hosted by Martin Mantegini: A relaxing and insightful session that closed the trip on a high note.” This gathering offered students a rare chance to engage directly with industry experts, deepening their understanding of Italy’s dynamic wine market and the strategic challenges faced by producers.
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You may know Juan Cruz Cortes as one of our long-standing Program Manager and Coordinator. Beyond his passion for wine, Juan brings deep expertise in regional viticulture, sustainability, and the evolving challenges of climate impact, having led groups through Mendoza’s high-altitude vineyards and facilitated rich conversations on varietal innovation.
Behind the scenes, our Client Care Manager Jessica isn’t just the friendly voice in your student’s inbox before they travel. She’s a trained sommelier based in Portugal, with over two decades of experience spanning wine education, consulting, and sourcing. Jessica’s background uniquely blends cultural insight with business acumen, enabling her to connect the dots between tradition and market dynamics. As Jessica explains:
“What’s always drawn me to wine is how it blends culture, science, storytelling, and business. Each destination offers a unique perspective. Some of the most powerful moments come from hearing a fourth-generation winemaker talk about climate change, or a young entrepreneur trying something new. Wine may be the product, but people are the story.”
Juan and Jessica represent the depth and diversity of knowledge we bring to every program, ensuring students experience not just wine, but the complex industries and human stories behind it.
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At Austral Group, we work with producers of all sizes, from family-owned estates to internationally renowned brands. These partnerships go beyond tours. They become academic case collaborators.
We’ve co-created consulting projects to support market entry strategies, like with Casa Marin in Chile, and tackled brand positioning and marketing strategies for companies like Wines of Chile.
The industry touches everything from agribusiness and finance to sustainability, tourism, and entrepreneurship. It offers fertile ground for programs in marketing, operations, strategy, and economics.
Student and faculty feedback proves it. Wine-focused programs aren’t just enjoyable, they’re academically enriching. From supply chain logistics to brand strategy, every vineyard visit becomes a real-world case study, blending insight with experience. And at its core, wine is about place, people, and purpose. That makes it the perfect lens to explore cross-sector themes like sustainability, entrepreneurship, and global marketing. Whether it’s a consulting project in Chile or a cultural deep-dive in Portugal, Austral Group brings academic rigor and local relevance to every itinerary. In the end, wine isn’t just a drink. It’s a global business. When students uncover the strategy behind the story, the learning doesn’t just stick, it resonates.
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