Gabriel-Glas North America acquired by Jonah Beer and Kaulig Capital

NEWS RELEASE

 

Gabriel-Glas North America has been acquired by Jonah Beer and Kaulig Capital from fellow Napa
resident and founder Tempe Reichardt. Jonah Beer is an investor and Napa Valley entrepreneur.

 

Gabriel-Glas was founded in Austria by famed Swiss wine critic René Gabriel in 2010 after his
decade-long search to design a lead-free, crystal, universal wine glass that could show off the best
elements of any wine—be that red, white, rose, or sparkling. His longtime friend Tempe Reichardt
fell in love with the glass from the prototype, and in 2013, she launched Garbiel-Glas North
America as the exclusive importer and distributor for glassware throughout the continent.

 

“I remember the first time I poured a glass of wine in to one of René Gabriel’s “All for One”
universal wine glasses,” says Jonah Beer. “I found myself reaching for it time and time again.
There’s an undeniable grace and elegance with René’s purpose-driven design that allows the
glass to disappear completely and the wine to almost float in midair.”

 

Jonah Beer and Tim Clepper of Kaulig Capital first met at Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars in 1999 when
Jonah—then a tasting room host and himself quite the glasswasher—gave a tour to Tim and his wife
Amy while they were visiting the valley on their honeymoon. “We stayed friends over the decades
since sharing bottles over the dinner table whenever he would visit the Napa Valley, or I would visit
Cleveland,” says Beer. “Having the chance to work with Tim and his team is a remarkable opportunity
and gives us all the resources we need to carry on what Tempe has built and what René has created.”

 

“Our collective team is excited to partner with Jonah Beer,” stated Tim Clepper of Kaulig Capital.
“He’s a widely respected wine expert and entrepreneur to be the North American distributor of
one of the finest artisans of wine glasses in the world, Gabriel-Glas.”

 

Bolstering the team is a group of co-investors who bring different expertise and vision to the
company. Wine Industry veteran DLynn Proctor is among those who bring a keen insight into the
world of fine wine. “I’ve used all-purpose glasses—APs—for 20 years and have always searched for
a glass that truly feels one with me, one with the wine, and what the wine is trying to convey,”
adds Proctor. “Design is everything, and in this glass, both the architect (René) and the engineer
(Winemaker) dance together in concert.”

 

Jonah Beer has stepped into the role of CEO at Gabriel-Glas North America and Tempe Reichardt
will stay on for one year as a consultant.