Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/39104
family may return to processing the beef itself, too, because the number of slaughterhouses in the San Francisco Bay Area has declined so dramatically. And the cuisine at The Restaurant continues to evolve as well. The nouvelle cuisine that was so much in vogue when the restaurant opened in 1986 has made a return. Carolyn Wente has seen food movements come and go, and come back again. While there was a time when hearty and bountiful plates were most favored, Wente says, “People are moving away from heavy, over-sauced meals to simple, yet beautiful, presentations.” In many ways, Carolyn’s grandmother, Bess, was the inspira- tion for entertaining at the winery. She had earned a degree in chemistry from U.C. Berkeley, a somewhat rare thing at the time, and she used the knowledge gained there in her kitchen to refine and perfect her baking. The family would often entertain dinner guests from the industry—buyers, wholesal- ers, key accounts—so the notion of having guests at the winery is nothing new. It was the catering business that Carolyn and her mother, Jean, operated that led to the creation of The Restaurant at the winery. Now in its 25th year, it can seat 100 inside and an additional 100–150 outside on the patio. While the economic climate of the past several years has been chal- lenging, and you’d expect dining at upscale, white-tablecloth restaurants to decline, it hasn’t hurt Wente Vineyards. “People see wine as a simple luxury, one they can still afford, even if they’re eating at home,” Carolyn says. And when people are eating out, “The way we eat in America is chang- ing.” Small plates, shared entrees and skipping dessert can be both economical and healthy, too, she says. So business is good. Wine sales at Wente Family Estates are expected to increase by 25 percent this year, coming on top of similar increases the past several years. And The Restaurant is rebounding from 2010, when a water district pipe burst in the hills, sending a landslide into the winery’s parking lot. Revenue at The Restaurant is up five to six percent over last year. All of this growth has meant a ramping up in the sales and marketing teams to keep up with demand. Carolyn’s nephew, Karl, is taking advantage of the opportunities offered by new media to introduce wine to new markets and new consumers. Karl and his sister Christine are the young turks at Wente, the fifth generation, the inheritors and protectors of the estates, the oldest continuously operated family-owned winery in the country. And the transition from fourth to fifth genera- tions is much different than the one that was made from third to fourth, when Carolyn Wente came into her own. “My father died when I was 21, and my brothers were 24 and 25. So it was just us. We would have liked to have him around to mentor us, but we didn’t get to have that.” But as the fifth generation has arrived, the fourth is still around to offer advice and counsel. “It’s different for the younger generation, being in this position. [Christine and Karl] are getting a better perspective. It’s not all about book learning.” And no one is going anywhere soon. Carolyn’s grandfather worked at the winery pretty much until the day he died at age 90, and her mom is still very active at the winery and on local and national boards at age 85. “A lot of things can become business enterprises that sup- port our vision,” Carolyn says. The new generation “may not have the time for new startups and new ways of doing things,” as they handle more of the day-to-day operations at the winery. And none of them will have to do it alone. Wente Family Estates Meets Food Network THE NEW entwine COLLECTION TARGETS “FOOD ADVENTURERS” Proving that not all long-distance relationships are doomed, the courtship between Wente Family Estates and Food Network resulted not only in a marriage, but an offspring, due any day. The food-wine intermarriage will produce the aptly named entwine, a collection of four wines that launch nationally this month. The collaboration taps not only two well-known names in the epicurean world, but also leverages the ever-growing interest in wine by foodie-consumers. “It’s the authority in food coming together with the Left to right: Susie Fogelson, SVP - Marketing, Creative & Brand Strategy, Food Network; Wente Fifth Generation Winemaker Karl Wente; Susan Stockton, Senior Vice President, Culinary Production, Food Network; Sergei Kuharsky, General Manager of New Enterprises, Food Network; and Rob Bleifer, Executive Chef, Food Network Kitchens. authority in wine,” said Amy Hoopes, Wente’s Executive Vice President of Global Sales and Chief Marketing Officer. Hoopes and Karl Wente were on site at the Food Network’s Manhattan kitchen studio for an exclusive preview event—and THE TASTING PANEL was also there. entwine’s debut show- cases two established tastes: what Wente does best, and what’s proven popular with consumers. Hitting the shelves will be a California Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet august 201 1 / the tasting panel /