Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/57654
WINE NEWS Cruse Control WE MEET THE NEW WINE DIRECTOR AT DRAGO CENTRO IN DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES Karl Wente Sr. Karl's Korner Each month in 2012, we'll take you into the mind of Wente Vineyards' Fifth-Generation Winemaker Karl Wente, who muses on everything from wine and food, to yoga and music on his blog. This month, Karl pays homage to his family's historic past and the legacy left behind by his grandfather, the first Karl Wente. To hear more from Karl, visit www.wentevineyards.com/blog. Spencer Cruse. W hen former award-winning sommelier Michael Shearin left Drago Centro, Celestino Drago's chic Italian restaurant in downtown Los Angeles, to seek another opportunity, Spencer Cruse admitted he had big shoes to fill. "I am building on what he created here," Cruse tells THE TASTING PANEL. "I'm a super wine geek and perhaps my touch is, let's say, a bit more eccentric, demanding more hand-selling." With Chef Ian Gresik's approach to Italian classics, interpreted as modern dishes with local ingredients, Cruse bases his list heavily on Italian wines—some that he claims are quite rare. With a choice of 38 wines by the glass (thanks to an Enomatic system) and his 75% Italian by-the- bottle list, Cruse opens up new experiences for his guests. 114 / the tasting panel / march 2012 My grandfather, the first Karl Wente, was a visionary man who saw the potential of the Monterey growing region in California long before the legions of wine companies put stakes in the ground. His legacy, among many other things, to my father, aunt and uncle—Eric, Carolyn and Philip Wente—was an extremely productive 550-acre Monterey vineyard, in the ultra-premium sub-region Arroyo Seco, which he first began planting in 1962. Today, that property has grown to 800 acres. I'm amazed whenever I walk through it; I think about the incredible prescience my grandfather demonstrated when he selected this particular site. From this beautiful property, which we farm sustainably just as he did, we now make an Arroyo Seco–designate Chardonnay, Riva Ranch and our Reliz Creek Pinot Noir, among other great wines in our portfolio. I can't help but imagine his footsteps in the vineyard, which they always say is the sign of a good winemaker. I raise a glass to his memory. PHOTO COURTESY OF WENTE VINEYARDS PHOTO COURTESY OF DRAGO CENTRO