Our Story

A lifelong lover of travel, food, and good wine, Beth Ann is thrilled to now combine her love of all of these things by being a part of Vela Wines in New Zealand and in bringing the best of the country’s wines back to the US. She started her career working in international development in Africa, Washington, DC and New York.

Food and wine were never far from her heart and in 2003 she opened a café and catering business in the Boston area. Married to a Frenchman (Arié) for over twenty years, she decided to devote herself full time to the joys of wine and winemaking. A lecturer in wine studies for the past several years at Boston University, Beth Ann is fully enjoying the very gratifying task of importing and marketing an array of New Zealand wines to the US markets.

Raised in Paris, France, Arié came to Boston in the US in 1993 and has been there ever since. With a lengthy career in the financial services industry, Arié decided in 2011 to plunge into the world of wine and winemaking with his wife Beth Ann and business partner Max Risman. What better place to do it than in the far-flung beautiful country of New Zealand!

While creating financial spreadsheets might seem like a far cry from viticulture and winemaking, Arié has thrown himself into Vela Wines with all the passion and precision that it takes to make the best possible wines and make Vela a successful venture in New Zealand and abroad.

Growing up in Moscow, Russia during the tumultuous 1990s, Max Risman is used to applying out-of-the-box solutions to unusual investments. And what could be more unusual than investing in the southernmost wine growing region of the world – Central Otago, New Zealand!

With a degree in chemical engineering and investment experience across many different industries and locales, Max is out there to prove that a scientific approach to wine growing can be fun and profitable at the same time.

A native Frenchman, Antony parlayed his vast oenological studies in France into a force to be reckoned with in the New Zealand wine industry. He has vast experience in viticulture and winemaking in many regions of France as well as in South Africa and New Zealand. Based full-time in New Zealand since 2010, Antony served as the manager and full-time winemaker at Alexandra Vintners in Central Otago. Antony started making wine for Vela in 2012, and in 2013 he became the COO for all Vela operations in New Zealand.

He is involved from grape to glass and applies his extensive knowledge of cool-climate viticulture and winemaking to help Vela produce the best possible wines now and for the future.

Julien comes from France where he has worked in various wine regions before moving to Australia and South Korea to develop his knowledge in viticulture.

In 2013 he decided to move to New Zealand to gain more experience and accepted to work full time for Vela first as an irrigation specialist and now as the vineyard manager. Water management is key to growing high-quality Pinot Noir and Julien makes sure we reach our goal.

If you don’t find him in the vineyard, try on the shore of Lake Dunstan and look for the trout and eels in his fisherman’s basket.

Miran has spent all her childhood in her family owned vineyard in South Korea. In 2011 she decided to gain experience in Australia, before joining the Vela team in 2013. She now uses all her experience in viticulture and management to look after the seasonal staff and make sure we grow the best Pinot Noir grapes.