Page 17

NVLife_JanFeb_2015

1 2 th ANNUAL napa valley PEOP L E & P L ACES JANUARY- F E B R UARY 2 0 1 5 15 Contributors Kari R uel L owel D owney Jana Waldin g er b o b m c c lenaHan Dave R o bert s on m at t m arkovic h ▲ FROM THE COVER INTRIGUING PARTNERSHIP Andre Crisp and Michael Moone of Luna Vineyards D espite nearly a half century of age difference and often thousands of miles between them, Luna Vineyards President and CEO Andre Crisp and Mike Moone, Luna’s founder and chairman of the board, talk and text every day. “We share a common vision,” Crisp says. Now 34, the former tech exec was chosen by Moone in 2012 to lead Luna. “Between us we have the expertise to achieve that vision. Our black label luxury wines are selling out, and we’re experiencing similar results in the broader market.” With a skillfully honed double-pronged approach that is proving wildly successful, Crisp and Moone have captivated wine patrons at all levels of the wine consumer demographic. Luna’s distributor-friendly family of brands offers a cheeky-to-chic assortment of $15 – $30 wines. These range from the edgy, youthful Lunatic Red, Lunatic White and new Asylum Zin, to Crisp’s own hand-crafted aCRISP Chardonnay to Arnold Palmer Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon, produced for Moone’s favorite golfing pal. At the same time, they’ve leveraged their Silverado Trail winery location into a destination showcase for their higher end wines, ranging from $30 to $300 (and up) a bottle. These are only available at the winery, where the tasting room has been redecorated in posh Mediterranean style. “Andre’s turned our tasting room into a wine bar,” Moone quips. “People come and stay for hours. We call them ‘Lunatics.’ Our wine club membership has doubled.” “We can do things other companies can’t do because I have Mike Moone on the other end of a text message,” Crisp says proudly of the man he considers his mentor. Moone is a noted food and beverage industry leader who formerly headed Stouffer Foods, Nestle Frozen Foods and locally Beringer Wine Estates before founding Luna in 1995. “I get to say to Mike Moone, can we do this? If he says it looks good, let’s do it, we do it.” Moone quickly interjects, “Andre drives this business forward with his tech background and his ambition. He’s young, he’s smart and he grew up around the wine business. Thanks to him our winery has undergone a metamorphosis. I’ve had more fun in the industry in the last three years rebuilding Luna with Andre than I had in the previous ten.” With exponential growth on track and new wines in the works, including a special label from vines personally grown by Moone, the next three years and maybe ten promise to be fun for two of Napa Valley’s most intriguing people. Luna Vineyards, 2921 Silverado Trail, Napa, CA 94558 • 707.252.2474 www.lunavineyards.com JANUARY /


NVLife_JanFeb_2015
To see the actual publication please follow the link above