George & Elsa Vare fell in love with the white wines of Friuli, Italy and Slovenia as a result of numerous trips made to the Collio region on behalf of Luna Vineyards which George founded.

The long tradition of wines grown to accompany the wonderful, delicious foods of Friuli is an inspiration for wine lovers everywhere.

Growing these wines successfully in the Napa Valley requires meticulous attention to detail.  The approach to winemaking is best expressed as “the wine is made in the vineyard; we go to great lengths in the winery not to mess it up!”

Planted in the Vare’s vineyard are Pinot Grigio, Ribolla Gialla (the only known planting in the United States), Sauvignon Blanc, Tocai Friulano, and Pinot Blanc.  Pinot Grigio and Ribolla Gialla are harvested as varietal wines on their own and blended with the other three grapes to make the Bianco.

In the vineyard, they follow the advice of their winemaker friends (see Heroes) in Collio - long hang time to maximize fruit character and careful control of vineyard grape yields to enhance the varietal character and intensity of flavors in the grape.

The grapes are gently pressed in the vineyard in a bladder press immediately after picking.  Only free-run and light press juice are used for the wine.   The target yield is 135 gallons per ton of grapes against the industry norm of 165+ gallons.  The juice is allowed to settle overnight in small stainless steel tanks and then moved to French oak barrels for a long, slow fermentation using only natural yeasts.  In general, minimal processing is the by-word. 

The wines do not go through malolactic fermentation, and any filtering is to prevent such fermentation from taking place in the bottle.  The resulting wines are delightful, tasty and different from almost anything else produced in California.  Most of the wines are bottled in late spring following harvest and allowed to age up to six months in the bottle before being released.

George & Elsa are committed to wines that are unique and different – pushing the edge of vineyard techniques, grape handling and processing, and small lot blending.  Order today and discover Vare for yourself!