Scott Feuille has been named head distiller of Vara Winery & Distillery. (Courtesy of Vara Winery)
Right out of the gate, Vara Winery & Distillery’s new gin is bringing home prestigious accolades.
Its recently released High Desert Gin received double gold and scored 99 points out of 100 at the 2020 PR%F Awards in December in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event’s main sponsor is Food & Beverage Magazine and Delta Sky Club.
Vara stayed true to its mission of producing an international family of Spanish and American wines and spirits. Vara co-founders Doug Diefenthaler and Xavier Zamarripa were inspired to create a gin after noticing Spaniards’ affection for gin during their frequent trips there. Gin is the No. 2 spirit in Spain, after Spanish brandy. Diefenthaler attributes that to the British having a large influence on the Iberian Peninsula and introducing London dry gin to the area. The Spanish began to make their own gin using botanicals and blossoms found in the Mediterranean. Diefenthaler and Zamarripa wanted to emulate that style of gin. The only problem was that Albuquerque is not near any large body of water and does not have the same botanicals found in the Mediterranean but what it does have is high-desert mountainous aromatics. Vara’s small-batch gin features 13 botanicals and is distilled from New Mexico grapes.