Sharing our dream with you.

At Ron Rubin Brands, we salute those who put their heart into everything, who go all in on a dream, no matter what stands in their way. This innovative, inspirational drive is at the very heart of our company, and we hope our beverages light this spark within everyone.

We invite you to join us on the adventure.

The Dream

The Dream

Ron Rubin’s 40-year dream

The start of it all

As a veteran of the beverage industry, Ron Rubin dreamed of starting his own winery when he was studying viticulture and enology at UC Davis in 1971. Then in 1972 he joined his family-owned and operated business, Central Wholesale Liquor Co. in Mount Vernon, Illinois. He quickly made innovation a priority, introducing numerous line extensions into their beverage portfolio. Ron stayed with his family’s company for the next 22 years.

 

Reading the tea leaves

Ron’s path through the beverage industry saw him as the master licensee in the Southeastern U.S. for Clearly Canadian Sparkling Water, selling over 3 million cases through over 100 distributors.

In 1994, Ron read The Republic of Tea, a book about the story and philosophy behind the groundbreaking tea company. Rubin was so inspired, and made an offer to the Ziegler’s and Bill Rosenzweig to purchase The Republic of Tea. Since then, Rubin has been on a mission to seek and procure the most exquisite teas from world premier tea gardens, making them accessible to everyone.

Making it real

40 years after Ron’s entry into the beverage industry, his dream came true. He purchased River Road Family Vineyards and Winery, in the Green Valley of the Russian River Valley, in the heart of California’s Sonoma County. Finding himself in the prestigious Green Valley made this “dream come true” even more meaningful.

In 2016, due to his innovative spirit, Ron Rubin was honored by North Bay Business Journal, when he received their Innovator of the Year Award.

Click here to learn more about Ron.

Dream Team

It takes a team to create the dream.

Fulfilling the dream of creating beautiful experiences through premium beverage is more than a quest for the best ingredients. It’s more than being in the right place at the right time. It’s having the right people to bring everything to life.

Ron Rubin is proud to present his dream team:

Community Commitment

Making it possible for everyone’s dream to come true.

We believe everyone deserves the chance to have beautiful experiences. That’s why our entire company is committed to enriching the lives of the people who call our community home.

Here’s just a sample of the community organizations we have helped.
Trained for Saving Lives

Our impact: We’ve helped bring Automated External Defibrillators to 345 wineries, and inspired them to train staff on these lifesaving devices.Trained for Saving Lives is an extension of Ron Rubin Winery’s commitment to sustainability, helping make wineries across California safer for both visitors and employees. Ron Rubin Winery has agreed to donate one ZOLL Automated External Defibrillator to 450 qualifying California wineries. Learn more about the personal inspiration behind Trained for Saving Lives.

Sonoma State University Wine Spectator Learning Center

The Sonoma State University Wine Spectator Learning Center’s mission is to provide transformational learning experiences for its students and the wine industry.  The Ron Rubin Student Commons will be a modern and inspiring space for its students, faculty, and the wine industry.  It will encompass a wine entrepreneurship laboratory, an outdoor study terrace, and a student hub with a multi-media experience. This Commons will connect students from around the world to those studying on campus to attain Bachelor and Master Degrees, with a concentration in wine business strategies. The Wine Business Institute operates within Sonoma State’s School of Business and Economics, and is a fully accredited AACSB institution.Our impact: Helping the Wine Business Institute at Sonoma State University

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Food for Thought

Founded in 1988, Food For Thought is a non-profit grassroots organization dedicated to serving the nutritional needs of Sonoma County residents living with HIV/AIDS and other critical illnesses. FFT provides free weekly groceries including canned and boxed food, frozen prepared meals, fresh produce, nutritional supplements, vitamins, and whatever other goodies are on hand, for as long as these services are needed. They offer support in English and Spanish. They currently provide food to men, women, and dependent children. While many clients are able to select their food at their beautiful facility, more than 1/3 of their clients receive delivery service because they are home-bound due to ill health or lack of transportation.Our impact since 2012: $35,861.28

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Marin School of the Arts Foundation

The mission of Marin School of the Arts Foundation (a nonprofit tax-exempt 501(C)(3) corporation) is to create opportunities for Marin School of the Arts to innovate and support a quality arts education experience for all of its students. We do this by providing resources and funding, beyond what is financed by the public school district, to sustain and enhance the arts programs at Marin School of the Arts at Novato High School, bringing college-level arts education to more than 1,400 students.Our impact since 2022: $10,000

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American Cancer Society’s Sebastopol Relay for Life

American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life symbolizes the battle waged around the clock by those facing cancer. Ron Rubin Winery has supported Relay for Life as a Platinum Sponsor since 2014. The Relay For Life movement has grown into a worldwide phenomenon, raising nearly $5 billion to fight cancer. The American Cancer Society is the nationwide community-based voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy, and service.Our impact: $5,000

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Chalk Hill Artist Residency

Chalk Hill Artist Residency offers time and space to professional artists of all media for the creation of new work in the inspiring setting of the Warnecke Ranch, situated along the Russian River in Sonoma County. Artists also have access to 260 acres of oak woodlands, vineyard, and river frontage. The program is unique in that select residencies are made available to artists with disabilities through partnerships with local non-profits like Becoming Independent, National Alliance on Mental Health, and Sonoma County Mental Health. These community artists also participate in monthly workshops with resident artists that promote integration into the local arts scene.Our impact: $5,000

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The Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO) Scholars Program

The Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO) Scholars Program recruits motivated students from low-income public high schools and provides them with the academic support and preparation they need to get into and graduate from competitive four-year colleges. The SEO Scholars Program serves nearly 600 high school college students in New York City and San Francisco.Our impact: $1,150 in-kind donations

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Trained for Saving Lives

Protecting dreams and saving lives at California Wineries

 

In 2009, while he was training for what would have been his eighth marathon, Ron Rubin collapsed. His heart rate spiked abnormally, a sudden onset of ventricular tachycardia. 

His son, Todd, dialed 911. While Ron was in the Emergency Room, medical personnel used electric shocks to bring his heartbeat back to normal. He now lives with an implanted cardiac defibrillator. That’s quite literal – Ron credits the defibrillator with having saved his life at least four times over the years.

Saving lives with free defibrillators

Ron’s personal experience – and his belief that sustainability means taking care both of our planet and the people who call it home – inspired him to create the Trained for “Saving Lives,” program – providing automated external defibrillators (AEDs) to California wineries. His vision? To make the winery experience safer for both visitors and employees.

In collaboration with the American Red Cross and ZOLL Medical Corporation, Ron Rubin Winery is covering the cost of one ZOLL AED PLUS (Automated External Defibrillator) unit, to 450 qualifying, California wineries. This sustainability and safety plan is designed to keep visitors to California’s wine country safe and saved, if necessary. Each day, California becomes more heart safe, in the possible event that CPR or an AED would be necessary. All of these 345 wineries are now Trained for “Saving Lives,” with over 1,300 newly trained staff members ready to take action, if and when necessary.

Awards for the Trained for “Saving Lives” program:

  • Sonoma County Vintners Association bestowed upon Ron Rubin their 2019 Innovator Award. Presented to Ron, this award is due to Ron Rubin’s outstanding commitment to the community, by virtue of its broad support of vital, sustainable community needs, through its AED Trained for “Saving Lives”.
  • LuxeSF (formerly the Luxury Marketing Council of San Francisco) named Ron Rubin’s Trained for “Saving Lives” program worthy their 2019 Rising Wine Stars Award, “Service to The Community.”
  • The Sonoma County Winegrape Commission‘s 2018 Spirit of Sonoma Award, honoring individuals who contribute to the economic development and enhancement of the communities in which they live, work, and conduct business, through donations of their time and expertise in support of local business and in helping others.
  • North Bay Business Journal’s 2018 Wine Industry + Spirits Awards; a special award specifically given to Ron for his outstanding commitment to the wine community, by donating these AEDs.

345 California wineries are in the program!

California wineries qualify for free ZOLL AED PLUS from Ron Rubin Winery.

See if your winery qualifies for a free lifesaving device. Email ron@ronrubinbrands.com.