Business Students take a Grape Escape
Tuesday 22 November 2011
As we all know money doesn’t grow on trees. It doesn’t grow in grape vines either as final year undergraduate business students found out. As a part of a series of social events organised this year Level 6 Business students visited Denbies English Vineyard in Dorking, Surrey - one of the most uniquely quintessential British businesses.
With £0 advertising budget Denbies still has a significant portion of its stock sold up to 2014 and their environmentally conscious bottle and "consume at the source" ideology has earned recognition to the British wine producer among locals, whilst developing new lines of British wine for Taste The Difference at Sainsbury’s and Tesco Finest to sell nationwide.
Who would have thought that the banking crisis would mean more fruit (grapes) for Denbies to process and more profit? According to Victor Mcguire, Tour and Facilities Manager, who lead the networking session with Kingston business students, ‘Too often vineries are run by amateurs. It often happens that bankers with fat redundancy cheques decide that starting a vinery is an easy thing, but end up with poorly forecasted crops and no means of processing fruit.’
Denbies works with local producers to ensure that its processing capacity is utilised effectively. Even global warming seems to bring positive returns to Denbies with the vineyard expanding its acreage and looking to increase profits in the future.
Students had a chance to learn about Denbies' business model and their continuous adaptation to changes to fierce competition, and of course become, if not professional connoisseurs, more familiar with Denbies best selling products, such as Surrey Gold (reportedly the Queen’s favourite). Dr Vladlena Benson, Undergraduate Course Director, who accompanied students during the tour, said that it was a fantastic opportunity for Kingston Business students to combine the educational experience of learning how most unique businesses are started and run, with a pleasant social afternoon at the picturesque Denbies complex in Surrey Hills.
Kingston Business School provides students with real-life exposure to a variety of businesses and organisations. If you or your business would like to host students on social events such as this, please contact Student Liaison Officer Clara Scott
