SSU Korbel Professor named

Liz Thach, a professor of management and wine business at Sonoma State University, was named its first-ever F. Korbel & Brothers Professor in Wine Business.

The three-year position will fund Thach’s research on marketing to millennials, increasing direct-to-consumer sales, and using social media and Web 2.0. She also plans to complete her book on the 10 top vineyards of Napa and Sonoma, which she has tentatively named “The Great Vineyards of Napa and Sonoma.”

“In France, they talk about their historic vineyards,” she said. “But you don’t often hear about our historic vineyards, and I think they deserve mention.”

Gary Heck, owner, president and chief executive of Korbel Champagne Cellars, funded the new position. The university did not disclose the size of Heck’s donation but said it “is equivalent to the impact of a $1 million endowment and is part of an ongoing commitment by Heck and his companies.”