Join us for our next iteration of Wine School featuring Michaell Cruse of Cruse Wine Co. and California’s most elusive sparkling wine, Ultramarine.

Cruse is a California native, originally from San Francisco but currently operating in Petaluma, Sonoma County. After spending his early career working in academia and molecular biology, he made the jump to enology and viticulture at UC Davis after a fateful encounter with the late Terry Leighton, of Kalin Cellars. An icon of US winemaking in the 1970s, Leighton was one of the first to argue against modern, industrial production. Katlin wines were handmade, using methods that could have been found in Burgundy cellars over century ago. Sound like a familiar ethos? 

Cruse himself is an assemblage of these experiences. An individual deeply in tune to the sciences, as well as the creative process and solitude it requires to conduct an experiment. He is a craftsman dedicated to the objects he will produce and is thoughtful enough to know that these objects will experience a lifetime outside of himself. Unlike most well-known California sparkling producers, Cruse models himself after the grower-producers of Champagne. Instead of blending to achieve a house style, these producers are focused entirely on the expression of place and work deliberately to remove anything that might get in the way of this communication.

This tasting will be a study of California sparkling wine and Cruse’s perspective on its future. Tasting sparkling wine can prove to be a difficult exercise for those accustomed to red wine. Instead of slowly releasing different aromas at each turn or swirl of the glass like still wine, sparkling wine releases them all at once, through its bubbles — a wholly different approach. It is as if you were gifted in abundance in one sweeping gesture. You can try to embrace it all at the same time, or take a stroll throughout the garden…

We can’t wait for you to join us for the first (of two!) Wine Schools this month. Tickets are available through Toast in our bio!