Mar 2011 // Kevin Whipps
At 23 years old, Jake Kloberdanz was just like many other guys in their 20s. He had his degree, a solid job in corporate America, and was working his way up the ladder. He quickly became successful in his role as the Gallo district manager for the greater Los Angeles area, and it looked like he would have a long and fruitful career in the wine industry. And so far, that's exactly what's happened, except that none of it has been in the way he expected.
The story really starts with what was supposed to be a fun visit with a friend. Upon his arrival, Kloberdanz learned that she was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma at only 23 years old. Most people would have comforted their friend, helped them adjust to going through treatment, and been there for assistance. But Kloberdanz decided instead that this was his moment to do something about it. "If I'm 23 and a good friend of mine is already being affected by one of these causes, then everybody across the nation is going to be at some point, or already is, affected by causes like this," Kloberdanz says.
There was this idea that he had been kicking around in his head since he began his career in the wine business. He dreamed of opening his own wine company where he could give a portion of the proceeds to various causes that were near and dear to his heart. This tragedy that his friend was going through became the impetus for him to start up his business and make a difference in the world. On April 19, 2006, Kloberdanz incorporated HOPE Wine, and soon he had seven friends involved as well. But this wouldn't be a normal company bent on making stockholders happy. Instead, the decision was made to donate 50 percent of the profits from each wine varietal to various charitable organizations. It's a business model most people wouldn't take on, but Kloberdanz knew it would be a winner.
Now the question was where to start. How does one get into the winemaking business if he doesn't know how to make wine? "I did what I tell everybody to do; I went on Google and started searching for winemakers, particularly people who are philanthropic in the wine industry," says Kloberdanz. That led to a meeting with one person who led him to another and another until finally he found one of their first winemakers. "My goal was never to become a winemaker myself, but to do the branding and marketing side while running the business and leaving the winemaking to the people that do it best."
The team got together some funds and started the ball rolling. "The first bottling I ever did was 168 cases," Kloberdanz recalls. "I literally drove it down in a U-Haul truck myself from Sonoma down to Orange County, and started selling it there." But this was still a part-time job for most of the founders, so no one could dedicate 100 percent of their time to the cause. Then a fortuitous dinner meeting turned into their first restaurant order, and that launched the business into a full-time venture.
Now it was time to get more into the logistics of the organization. HOPE Wine became ONEHOPE, and the ONEHOPE Foundation was formed as a nonprofit organization as a way for the company to properly funnel money to the appropriate charities. This also allows the foundation to directly raise funds as well, making it possible to give even more.
As the company grew, Kloberdanz knew he wanted to expand the charities that ONEHOPE assisted, to give back to the greatest amount of people possible. But how did he choose what wine goes where? It starts with the obvious: logic. "We chose Chardonnay for breast cancer because women prefer Chardonnay 2 to 1 over any other varietal, and breast cancer affects 1 in 8 women in the U.S.," Kloberdanz says. The list goes on from there. Zinfandel is considered the all-American grape, so it makes sense to be paired with benefiting America's soldiers. Sauvignon Blanc is considered grassy, and therefore, profits go to helping the environment. Each pairing between wine and charity is done in such a way that it makes sense, but also makes the biggest impact.
"We like charities that are lean and that a large percentage of every dollar raised goes toward the actual cause," says Kloberdanz. Some charities focus on the broad goal, and although they do raise money for the project at hand, there's no real way to determine specifically where each dollar went. "We like direct brands where we can see the people or causes we're affecting by donating. And if we're donating toward researching or an overall researching project, we like for there to be a goal at hand."
The company has expanded in quick order, and has doubled their production each successive year, but there's still more to do. Currently, ONEHOPE can be found in multiple states and online, but there are still more states to expand into, and more varietal and charity pairings to make. And the more bottles that are sold, the more money gets funded back into these charities, making it a positive experience for all involved. "I always wanted — from our company's perspective — for our motivation and our goals to be measured equally in what we can give, versus what we create for ourselves as far as monetary results," Kloberdanz says. It's that selfless attitude that really makes Kloberdanz and ONEHOPE Wine a special company that stands out from the crowd.