Grape expectations: Vara moves into new space, creates new spirits and wines

Apr. 5—There is a new kid in town in the Nob Hill neighborhood.

Vara Winery & Distillery recently opened a new tasting room at 201 Hermosa Drive NE. The space, formerly known as Public House wine bar, has been transformed into a Vara wonderland filled with its wide array of wines and spirits. It also offers High & Dry Brewing craft beer, according to JP Clement, Vara CEO and general manager.

Its tasting room at its location near Balloon Fiesta Park has been scaled down into a micro-tasting space. The rest of the property will be used for storage and a solera room where Vara can make its rum and brandy. The lawn, where patio cabanas were located, will remain open for guests who want to lay down a picnic blanket and enjoy a glass of wine on the grass.

The shift to Nob Hill opens the door for a more urban setting that is inviting to an eclectic mix of clientele from different backgrounds and age groups.

"I want Vara to be known as this local New Mexican brand that's really doing New Mexico proud with its wines and spirits," Clement said. "But also, that is not a snobby wine brand. I want Vara to be more approachable, to appeal to a lot of us, and be able to democratize wine, really good quality wine to a much wider demographic and equally younger people, millennials and Gen Zs."

The Nob Hill location offers Vara's catalog of wines as well as its signature cocktails, including its Spanish 75 and Vesper Viper. Guests can also keep things simple and order Vara spirits with a mixer, such as gin and tonic and vodka sodas.

Spirit flights and wine flights are also available to allow guests to sample what Vara has to offer. Patrons can also enjoy small bites Wednesday through Saturday, including loaded Papas Bravas and Albondigas Sliders.

An expansion to the food offerings is coming soon with The Kitchen at Nob Hill. It will offer a menu that is similar to what Vara's Balloon Fiesta Park location offered, including charcuterie boards. Soon the Nob Hill location also will be doing pop-up dinners and private events.

Opening a new tasting room is only the beginning of things to come for Vara. It recently launched a whiskey program and barreled its first bourbon made with New Mexico corn. The bourbon is being aged in French oak barrels.

"The French oak barrels came from the people we buy our barrels from for our wine," Clement said. "We try to kind of cross-pollinate the spirits side and the winery side."

Vara is bringing back its dark rum that will be released in the coming weeks. It also will soon release a Spanish solera-style aged brandy that is cask strength.

"It's higher alcohol (content) that gives you a greater mouthfeel," Clement said. "It's lovely, it really pushes the flavors off. And that's been aged for at least four years. I know we have a lot of things in the pipeline."

An exciting addition to Vara's spirit offerings will be a blanco tequila and an a?ejo tequila, as well as a mezcal. The line, named Ladrones by Vara, has been approved by the Consejo Regulador del Tequila (CRT), a governing body formed to regulate and protect tequila production as it emerged as a national icon in Mexico. The line will be bottled in New Mexico.

Vara will soon be releasing a rosé made with 100% New Mexico grapes.

"We've made a conscious effort to source more New Mexican grapes," Clement said. "We are actually about to bottle (the rosé) in April. So it's going to be probably be released in May ... It's going to be called New Mexico Rosé."

On the horizon is the release of a godello wine made with the white variety of Spanish grape and a cabernet from Spain that will be made in very small quantity. Laurent Gruet, Vara partner and winemaker, is working on a Silverhead Zero Dosage sparkling wine that does not add sugar during the wine during the disgorging process. A sweet sparkling wine is also in the works.

"Those grapes are sourced from California," Clement said of the godello. "It's a pretty famous Spanish grape, but not many people know. It is a delicious white. It's a very fruity, very clean, very acidic, but with a lot of big notes to it. It's a lovely wine."

Vara's sangria is so popular that it is working on canning it and making it available as a ready to drink cocktail. The limited batches of cans will be available for purchase at Vara tasting rooms soon.

"We're just going to do a little test and see how people like it," Clement said. "There's gonna be a few surprises. So (it is a) very innovative product in the sense of how it's packaged and how it's going to work."