Centers & Institutes

The Wine & Spirits Management Institute (W&SMI) was founded in 2002 through a collaboration among Hilton College, Spec's Charitable Foundation, Glazer's Family of Companies, Diageo, E & J Gallo, Brown-Forman, and the Beam Global unit of FutureBrands. Since its inception, the institute has prepared students for careers in the wine and spirits industry, which includes distribution, retail and on-premise sales, and the marketing of wine, spirits and beer. The institute also strongly emphasizes social responsibility.

In its early years, W&SMI offered certification in commercial beverage management through a series of weekend classes and exams. In 2007, to meet the growing needs of the industry, the program was restructured and became the College's minor in beverage management and marketing. This minor was first offered in the fall of 2008 and is now available to all students at the University of Houston. The beverage management and marketing minor includes rigorous classes in wine and spirits marketing, beverage management, wine appreciation, professional selling, and alcoholic beverage law and regulations. The capstone of the minor is an internship with a retailer, a distributor or an on-premise alcoholic beverage company. 

Today, W&SMI is pursuing research grants to support studies on sustainable solutions to frost damage to vines, wine preservation, irradiation of corks as a method for preventing the onset of cork taint, and effective server-management tools for responsible alcohol service. In addition, the institute supports a student organization—the Wine and Spirits Management Association—with networking and educational opportunities for its members.