Albuquerque-based Vara Winery & Distillery, Albuquerque, named  is pleased to announce JP Clement as its chief executive officer and general manager. Clement joined the team in January, bringing with him decades of marketing and product management experience, as well as a lifelong love of great wine and food.

"Vara has laid a strong foundation as a New Mexican producer of fine wines and spirits that bridges the old world and the new quite literally by blending grapes from Spain, California and New Mexico," says Clement. "I hope to make Vara a flagship beverage company in New Mexico, and in the United States at large, by combining my passion for spreading the stories of extraordinary brands with the incredibly high-quality craftsmanship already in place at Vara."