October 10, 2018
Rohnert Park, CA – The Wine Business Institute in the School of Business and Economics (SBE) at Sonoma State University (SSU) today announced Dr. Liz Thach, MW, Distinguished Professor of Wine, has been invited to share expertise on luxury branding in wine as a model for chocolate at Harvard University’s (Harvard) Fine Cacao and Chocolate Institute’s inaugural Chocolate Conservatory convention on October 11-12, 2018. Attendees include professionals from the international realm of cacao and chocolate, including production, trade, manufacturing, retail, hospitality, specialty food, anthropology, agricultural economics, and academia.
“There are many similarities between chocolate and wine – they are both agricultural products, and are grown in special locations around the world. While the wine industry has identified distinct growing areas as legalized appellations, the fine cacao industry is just beginning to examine this concept,” Dr. Liz Thach, MW, Distinguished Professor of Wine said.
“Chocolate professionals have long looked to develop a specialty market where price premiums are linked to perceived quality,” Dr. Carla Martin, founder and executive director of the Fine Cacao and Chocolate Institute and lecturer at Harvard University said. “Despite making many analogies to luxury beverages like wine, the chocolate industry has not yet fully engaged with the possibilities of alternative models. Dr. Liz Thach's significant expertise on the development of denominations of origin and luxury branding in wine will inform discussions on these emerging topics in specialty cacao and chocolate.”
Dr. Liz Thach is the Distinguished Professor of Wine and a Professor of Management at Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park, California. In 2011, Dr. Thach received her Master of Wine from the Institute of Masters of Wine in London. She has published six wine books, over 120 trade and scholarly articles, and eight book chapters throughout her career. Her book, Call of the Vine: Exploring Ten Famous Vineyards of Napa and Sonoma, won the 2014 Gourmand Award for Best Women in Wine Book in the U.S.
For more information on the conference, please visit https://chocolateinstitute.org/conservatory/. For more information about Professor Liz Thach and her work, or for information regarding wine business faculty research and our advanced degrees and certificates, please visit www.sonoma.edu/sbe/winebiz or contact us at (707) 664-3235 or winebiz@sonoma.edu . The Wine Business Institute is an education and research institute of the School of Business and Economics (SBE).