Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1037369
46 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2018 Half-Century Evolution "I've always been into wine," Doody tells The SOMM Journal while sitting at a conference table in Vineyard Brands' Manhattan ofce. It was that love of wine, in fact, that nearly spurred him to forgo law school in favor of the famed enology program at the Univer- sity of California, Davis. While Doody ultimately decided to continue on with his original plans, eventually building a successful career in corporate law, the urge to make a change arose again 20 years later. By then, Doody had decided to retire from practicing law and was instead seeking to nally pursue his passion for wine. After enrolling in New York's French Culinary Institute (now the International Culinary Center), rst in its culinary arts program and then in its intensive sommelier training program, Doody earned his Certied Sommelier accredi - tation through the Court of Master Sommeliers. While there, he befriended some of the Master Sommelier instructors. Because of Doody's law and business background, sev - eral of them suggested he explore the wine-importing business and urged him to reach out to Vineyard Brands upon learning he was familiar with the company. In a twist of fate, the then-Presi - dent and CEO happened to be seeking a successor, and Doody promptly joined the team in 2013. Though Doody's law background focused on corporate re - structuring, he's quick to note Vineyard Brands did not need the kind of overhaul he'd formerly overseen. Rather than entering the new role with sweeping plans for change, Doody aimed to act more as a guide who could gently steer the company to further success. "I view myself as the caretaker of the company for now, and I'll end up passing it on to the next generation when the time is right," he says. Upon taking the reins at Vineyard Brands ve years ago, Doody spent a signicant amount of time speaking with the company's founder—Robert Haas, who died earlier this year—to better understand the foundation on which Vineyard Brands was built. Many of the company's winery relationships originated prior to its formal establishment in 1971, when Haas worked as the import buyer at his father's Manhattan wine shop, M. Lehmann (which would later become Sherry-Lehmann). Haas was among the rst to convince the region's producers to bottle their wines independently instead of selling them to négociants, and in addition to building a robust Burgundy port - folio after World War II, he also served as the sole importer of Bordeaux estate Château Petrus in the 1950s. In the 1960s, he began working with Famille Perrin's Château de Beaucastel in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. "Though we are 50 years old, we feel like a 100-year-old company because of the strong relationships that we have forged and maintained over the years," Doody says. True to Form Until Haas decided to sell the company in the 1980s in order to launch his Paso Robles estate, Tablas Creek Vineyard, Vineyard Brands was largely a French wine importer with a specialization in Burgundy. Rather than sell to an outside company, Haas established an employee stock ownership plan to give his staff a stake in the business's future. As the company entered this new phase, it also decided to expand the scope of its portfolio, and today Vineyard Brands works with producers in Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany, the U.S., South Africa, Argentina, Australia, and New Zealand. "Our job is to have a well-curated portfolio with a mix of winery sizes, appellations, and price points, and we need to make sure that we actively represent all of our brands," Doody says, adding that the company rigorously vets potential wineries to ensure they're a good t before adding them to the portfolio. All Vineyard Brands wineries must be family-owned and provide a "geographic t" that allows the sales team to carry out this representation without conicts. Most important, of course, is the quality of the wine itself. "If our name is on there," Doody says, "we want people to have condence that it's an excellent bottle." According to Tylor Field, Vice President of Wine and Spirits for Mastro's Restaurants and other Landry's establishments, Vineyard Brands' portfolio philosophy is intrinsic to its success. "If you're looking for great wines of the world, Vineyard Brands has created its own niche," Field says. "They're the go-to for the best names— you know that a Vineyard Brands wine is going to be high-quality." Field has overseen purchasing, protability, and training for beverage programs at roughly 135 restaurants for nearly 30 years, purchasing wines from Vineyard Brands throughout that period. He opts to feature several of the company's wines—from high-end options like Henri Gouges to value-oriented sellers like Miraval—on the Mastro's core list while assembling a set of standard bottles guests can expect at any of the locations he supervises. Field says it's a move that's essential when managing so "The mention 'Imported by Vineyard Brands' means the best quality," Vineyard Brands President and CEO Gregory Doody says.