Young’s Holdings’ Vern Underwood Passes Away At 85

Vern Underwood, long the leader of his family company Young’s Holdings, passed away Sunday, November 2 at his Newport Beach, California home at the age of 85. Underwood grew Young’s Market Company from a local Southern California operation into a 10-state wine and spirits wholesaler with annual revenue of $3 billion, ranking among the national leaders.

Underwood joined the family business after graduating from the University of Southern California in 1962. Young’s was a wholesale distributor of wine, spirits, meats, and specialty food products founded in 1888. Starting out in the warehouse, he then joined the sales organization and eventually became president in 1975.

Underwood spearheaded Young’s expansion across California in the 1980s, and then—through a series of moves in the 1990s and 2000s—transformed the company into a 10-state operation and one of the top wholesalers in the U.S. market. In 2019, Young’s Market Co. formed a joint venture with RNDC across its market footprint, with RNDC consolidating the business fully under its own banner in 2022 and Underwood’s Young’s Holdings continuing with its other business interests.

Those include the fine wine importer and wholesaler Wilson Daniels, with revenue above $250 million across its national import and wholesale businesses, and a national portfolio totaling about 700,000 cases, as well as California-based spirits marketer Infinium Spirits, with brands like million-case Seagram’s vodka and premium labels like Templeton whiskey and Corralejo Tequila.

Most recently, in 2023 the Underwood family unveiled its new winery in the Russian River Valley, Jonive, and earlier this year expanded its holdings in the region with the purchase of 36-acre estate Arista Winery, a top-quality producer of Sonoma Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.—Daniel Marsteller

Tagged : Arista Winery, Infinium Spirits, Jonive, RNDC, Wilson Daniels, Young's Holders

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