Verjus for you?
To learn more about verjus and how to purchase a bottle made by Glasrose, visit glasrose.com. Follow along on Instagram @glasrosefarm for content about the founders’ sober lifestyle on the vineyard estate.
Sara Hershkowitz and Max Hoetzel went on precisely one date before COVID-19 shut the world down. She was living in Germany, working as an opera singer with orchestras across Europe. He was making wine in Santa Ynez and strumming a banjo or guitar in his free time at the tasting room.
Originally from Venice Beach, Hershkowitz met her now husband during a trip home to visit her parents. She returned to Europe after their date, arriving in a town an hour outside of Paris, to sing in an opera.
“The pandemic hit, and I got stranded in France,” Hershkowitz told the Sun.
With everything on their agendas canceled, the pair began making music together. An ocean separated them, but even the distance couldn’t stop the musicians from bonding over bluegrass folk songs. Eventually, they were both back in California.
They both thought that they needed to meet again in person to “know if this is just an internet romance or if this is the real deal,” Hershkowitz said. “So, he came and picked me up at my parents’ house in Venice and took me up to Santa Ynez. And I never left. That was six years ago.”
‘That kind of was the inception of Glasrose as an idea: How can we make a really sophisticated, beautiful sparkling bottle that is not wine?’
—Max Hoetzel, Glasrose co-founder
That foundation of teamwork and creativity translated into their business venture making nonalcoholic beverages. Hershkowitz and Hoetzel moved to a 105-acre vineyard and ranch in Santa Ynez. Now it’s been one year since they founded Glasrose, a lifestyle brand that launched with a few flavors of verjus, which means “green juice” in French.
Made with grapes picked six weeks before they ripen, the Glasrose product is a zero-proof sparkling beverage. It has a tart flavor from high acid and low sugar content.
Glasrose sells its verjus plain, to be enjoyed over ice, but all kinds of concoctions are possible. The company currently offers two sparkling varieties in addition to the plain, still bottles.
“That kind of was the inception of Glasrose as an idea: How can we make a really sophisticated, beautiful sparkling bottle that is not wine?” Hoetzel said. “It is not dealcoholized wine. It is something different.”
Verjus is usually treated as an afterthought, a byproduct of harvest. Unripe grapes may drop from the vines, and winemakers don’t know what to do with them. Hoetzel, however, purposefully farms those grapes.
The team crushes and presses at the winery in Santa Ynez but sends the juice up north to Lodi to be carbonated and bottled. In between those steps, they layer in teas and natural flavors for finishing touches.
What surprises most drinkers is that Glasrose isn’t sweet, Hershkowitz explained. She’s noticed that most nonalcoholic alternatives are syrupy—which some people enjoy, but it’s not for everyone. Verjus isn’t intended to taste like wine, either.
“It’s got a lovely tartness to it,” Hershkowitz said. “The other thing is that we put these beautiful botanicals in. We’ve got elderflower, which has a wonderful calming effect. We brew that tea, and that makes it really nice.”
Their elderflower yuzu verjus has an afternoon or nightcap vibe because it helps imbibers calm down from the day, she added. Along with vermentino grapes, it also includes pink Himalayan salt and a small amount of green tea extract.
Glasrose also offers a hibiscus tea and blood orange variation featuring grenache grapes.
“It’s got a gorgeous sort of magenta color, and then we’ve got cardamom, black pepper, and birch bark,” Hershkowitz described. “Birch bark is what they use to make sarsaparilla, which is what they use to make root beer. So this has almost like a nostalgic childhood [flavor], almost a hint of candy. It’s super faint, and it’s still quite tart. … It is complex on the palate.”
A growing number of people are craving elevated alternatives to alcohol, and the husband and wife believe they’re a perfect fit for the market.
Winemaking can feel like a competitive industry, whereas the couple said the nonalcoholic community isn’t. Hoetzel said he fell out of love with his winery job because of the retail aspect, so when they both coincidentally stopped drinking in 2023, their alcohol-free chapter began.
“I missed the social aspect of wine, and I missed working with grapes. I just loved the farming part, and I just love grapes,” Hoetzel said with a laugh.
After Glasrose was born and the couple started to get familiar with nonalcoholic social circles, they discovered a shared enthusiasm for the sober lifestyle.
For Hershkowitz, finding other like-minded business owners is one of the most rewarding parts of her work. She said she didn’t expect it, but it’s been the best surprise.
“It’s extremely collaborative. There’s a lot of younger people. There’s a lot of women. There’s a lot of queer people and just people who have a certain awareness about their bodies, about health, about creating a life that feels good to live in,” Hershkowitz said. “And creating, from a business perspective, a different way of doing business.”
She feels the same way about consumers, too.
“It’s like, ‘Oh. These are people we’d all want to be friends with,’” she said.
Hershkowitz and Hoetzel have hundreds of thousands of friends on social media, thanks to short videos showcasing their daily lives on the ranch. Hershkowitz shares her enjoyment of sober living and her natural beauty remedies, while Hoetzel is often seen putting his baking talents to good use.
“We try to be a real positive corner in the world. Social media can be really terrible,” Hoetzel said.
His wife added that their page intends to bring people joy.
“We try to share snippets that will give people hope about a different way of living, that that’s possible,” she said. “And how playful and whimsical and creative life can be without alcohol. Also, we’re a blended family. … There can be joy and creativity and a lot of love in that as well.”
Residing on the ranch means life looks different in every season. They tend to grapes, a vegetable and herb garden, horses, and chickens.
The property wouldn’t be complete without a music studio, though, seeing as that was how their adventure together began.
“We really try to combine our love for the arts and also for nature and trying to keep life slow enough,” Hoetzel said. “Some times it’s easier than others.”
Staff Writer Madison White enjoys a refreshing beverage as much as the next gal. Reach her at mwhite@santamariasun.com.
