High Velocity Radio ... Interview with Sharon Kazan Harris of RARECAT Wines
Sharon Kazan Harris Owner and Director of Winemaking RARECAT Wines Sharon fell in love with wine in Bordeaux when she was 20 years old, a time when she was obsessed with speaking French and living abroad. There to study French, Bordeaux taught her some of the most important things in my life: an appreciation of fine food and wine, and a joie de vivre one gets from sharing those things with those we love and cherish.
Most people have long lists of accolades that define their life’s successes. For her, it is quite the opposite — success has been a result of fortuitous introductions, dreaming big ( with the ability to make ideas happen), and a willingness to try new things. Her love of food and wine directly stems from naive gumption, charm, and a desire to learn, all of which led her to my first wine experience at Haut Brion; then to living with France’s most famed cheese making family; and finally to a cooking internship under the wings of Amat, a famous 2 star chef in Bordeaux.
She longed to be in the wine industry for decades, but getting to Napa Valley was like driving on a windy, country road verses a toll highway. Spent many years working in executive positions in publishing (Managing Director of Miller Freedman’s International Division), advertising (President of an ad agency, Transphere), and technology (VP of Sales of Inktomi, an internet search engine start-up, internet consultant to VISA and Estamp) and a tech investor. Luckily a successful career in tech allowed her to trade computers for vineyards.
Undoubtedly the hardest thing she has accomplished is graduating with honors from the Universite de Bordeaux’s famed D.U.A.D. program, a technical oenology diploma taught in French. Today, she serves as the sole owner and Director of Winemaking for RARECAT Wines and oversee all aspects of our wine production in Napa, Bordeaux and Champagne. While promoting RARECAT, her greatest passion has been empowering women. She has used wine as a tool to bring together thousands of executives to connect with their stakeholders. She is proud to be the only American vintner producing estate wines in Champagne and Bordeaux.