Vare Vineyards

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This is a teeny family owned winery in Napa and the wines are available at some great restaurants and by ordering from the website. Thomas Kellar ( The French Laundry and Per Se in New York) snatched up the Bianco for his restaurants.

We sent bottles to clients (some magnums) this year and they loved it. Below is a interview with the founder.

Interview with George Vare
The REthink Wine Blog

I have been fortunate in my life to work with or spent some time with people who have changed and influenced the wine industry in amazing ways. Some are names you know, some are upcoming stars that will influence the industry over the next ten years (I will reserve another blog for people that I think are the unsung heroes and upcoming superstars). Some of the great legends who have been kind enough to help me in my career through guidance and advice include Michael Mondavi, George Vare, Mike Moone, John Wright, Francis Ford Coppola, Tom Shelton, Ted Simpkins, and more than I can count.

I am fortunate to spend time with many of these people still on a monthly basis. They still continue to lead and innovate and I very much enjoy their opinions and ideas. Going back to my college roots of writing, I asked George Vare to share some of his wealth of knowledge and his great ideas in an interview. He was kind enough to oblige.

George was originally the CEO for Geyser Peak, he then went on to run the Henry Wine Group and subsequently founded and owns Luna Vineyards with Mike Moone and was CEO there until 1990 when he retired and started his own new project, Vare Vineyards, Vare Vineyards.

Interview with George Vare at ABC Bakery in Napa:

PM: George, Thanks for taking the time to chat with me. Let’s jump right in, how do you think e-commerce has impacted the wine industry?

GEORGE: Well in my opinion, the industry has not yet felt the impact. We are still dealing with four to five decades of standard business in an industry that is slow to change, and where a traditional three tier system is resisting it as much as possible. However, younger people are taking over in the industry and are saying “hey, this is how I do all my business and is my way of life.” It is still going to take time but the wave is cresting and the entire industry is just about to catch it.

PM: Tell me more about the Vare Project (Vare Vineyards).

GEORGE: Vare is really a project of passion. I’ve known for years that Italian white wines from California are a hard sell in the U.S.. Luna started with in the 90’s. This is an offshoot of my learnings at Luna. Because of our deep involvement with white Italian varietals, John Konsgaard and I often went to Friuli, where Pinot Grigio is made to understand the styles. After many trips, we made good friends in Friuli and every year for ten years, they gave great feedback on our wine, and we got to experience their local varietals. And that’s where I fell in love with two wines:

Ribolla Gialla was the first. I absolutely loved the taste. It was a wine that was only grown in the Collio region of Friuli and Slovenia, and dates back to the 13th century. It is medium bodied and lightly spicy and is superb with food.

The second was Bianco. Bianco is a common blend done in Friuli and one of the friends we made has a winery called La Castellada.

PM: Ha, does the wine really “cost a lot.”

GEORGE: (Laugh). No, but it is good wine. Traditionally Bianco is a blend of Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, Tocai Friulano, and Chardonnay. When I had some for the first time, I thought it was the best wine ever. In fact, our “Freakout” at Luna is a Bianco, and when we made it, I was delighted with the outcome. We’ve spiced up the Vare Bianco with a little Ribolla Gialla. People think I am crazy as the only guy focused on off-beat white wines in Napa Valley.

Currently we have seven acres around our house and we have no reds growing. I don’t intend to add any unless there is something very interesting that I can grow. I really have no desire to grow the brand, it is just my passion, and we have the capacity to grow to 1800 cases, but I enjoy where we are with about 400-600 cases.

This speaks to the internet though – I am truly amazed at the power it has. I recently “Googled” my brand and a retailer in Dobb’s Ferry, New York came up on the list. They took my notes from my site and then rated the wines. It was an extremely favorable rating and I wrote an email to them thanking them. Within three minutes they had responded and strangely enough, thanked ME for making contact and asked me if I could send twenty four “dummy” bottles and other items so they could do a window display featuring our wine. Without the internet, I would have never found them or them me. I now have a relationship with a good customer.

PM: Yes, I agree, the Internet is the ultimate tool to help wineries gain a world wide audience. What do you think about the new “compliance scare.”

GEORGE: I’m not as close to it as I’d like, but I see it as a natural reaction from the traditional industry. It is the three tier groups trying to maintain control and continuing to “clog” the system through unreasonabe restrictions.

PM: George, more than most, you know how to build a brand. What would you recommend to a winery on how best to start a brand in these competitive and difficult times?
GEORGE: Well, it depends on your volume horizons. If you are going to be big, and when I say big, I mean over 20K cases, you NEED to play in the traditional three tier system which is expensive and requires manpower and time. It is no secret that Luna has been in business for over 10 years and has great distribution. The winery produces 40K plus in cases, and this year was the first year we showed profit.

Any winery launching now that is under 20K cases needs to put a major emphasis on direct sales.

PM: Both direct sales, Direct to Consumer and Direct to Trade correct?
GEORGE: Yes, it is hard to get attention in the traditional channel. Here’s a key example. You came to my release party on Sunday and it consisted of friends, the trade, and wine business insiders. For the trade, I invited over sixty people from various restaurants and retailers only got six replies and one attendee. The guy that came tasted the wines but said to me, “I never make decisions on samples I taste at events like this, I need you to send me samples.” How do you get their attention?

I also made sure to purposely put what wines we were tasting on the invite. The trade is suspicious of, but not curious about, Italian white wines made in California – particularly new, unknown varieties. I go back to my Dobbs Ferry story. I’d rather use the Internet to find the people that are truly interested in new innovative products.

Of course, I could go the other route by developing a HUGE, killer Cabernet with a “rockstar” winemaker.

The problem is 100% a result of the three tier system and its inefficiencies. It does great things for big brands but the hourglass still exists. When I started in the 70’s there were under 500 wineries in California. Now there are over 3,500 and that doesn’t count the multiple brands some wineries make. The hourglass has always been there (with the wholesaler being the thin part on the middle) but the top sandholder (the number of wineries) had gotten MUCH larger. Wineries are going to be forced to break these barriers.

PM: George, what do you think about wine reviews and bloggers?

GEORGE: (laughing) I think of aiming for wine reviews is like the “Hail Mary pass.” They can have tremendous impact but if that is what you are aiming for, you are going to miss more than you score.

Now don’t get me wrong, if Robert Parker calls to come visit and learn about our wine I’d gladly take the meeting. If I got a good review I’d have the potential to become one of those rare allocation wineries and I’d enjoy my moment in the sun. But it is not our goal, just a lucky break.

I am building this brand for the fun and the challenge. I am not looking for size and financial success with Vare Vineyards. Sometimes I wake up and ask myself, “am I crazy.”

PM: George, in your opinion, what could the industry be doing better?

GEORGE: Well, with 3,500 plus wineries it is such a diverse set of players that a little of everything is being done.

The mantra of educating the consumer has been a major push for the wine industry for 30 years and I think it has not been very effective.

One area that deserves our attention is the high restaurant markup on wine. I completely understand both sides and how hard it is to make money at a restaurant. I would not want to be a restaurateur. However, that location is the perfect vehicle for product sampling, and I hate the fact that I am paying 2½ to 3 times the cost when I buy a bottle of wine with dinner.

PM: Do you think that as Direct to Trade takes off, that wineries can help by absorbing some of this margin and working closer with restaurants?

GEORGE: Absolutely, maybe that will help both the winery and the restaurant with the pricing issue.

Actually, I applaud Inertia and give you credit for really pushing e-commerce and direct to help break the barriers that exist. That is why I am such a supporter of you and your team. Also, for the last 10 years a ton of companies have tried to use e-commerce but they have just emulated old paradigms such as being an online retailer, etc. Instead you empower the winery and are really trying to expand the channel. You don’t peddle wine and you focus on the mechanisms that help sell wine more and give it back to your wineries so they can do better. Again, that’s why I’m with you.

PM: George, thanks so much, I really appreciate your insight and time.

GEORGE: No problem, keep up the great work.

Inertia - Powering the Wine Revolution

---Paul Mabray - CEO