When Anthony Beckman and Alissa Lind decided to launch their own small wine label, inspiration wasn’t hard to find.
Lind’s great-great uncle, William Cruess, is a giant of early California winemaking, a mentor to giants like Robert Mondavi and Charles Krug, and the author of a seminal 1934 textbook on winemaking practices that is still used by present-day UC Davis enology students.
“Everyone had lost so much winemaking knowledge during the 18 years of Prohibition, so his expertise was really valued,” explains Beckman.
Beckman and Lind both grew up in small towns and moved to Sonoma decades ago to get into the wine industry. Beckman worked a number of local harvest jobs before going back to school and finally landing a coveted winemaker position at Santa Rosa’s Balletto Vineyards in 2007.
In 2014, Beckman began touring a few vineyards to see if they felt like a good fit for a small winemaking project on the side. That’s when he discovered some Fiano grapes at Bowland Vineyard in the Russian River Valley.
“Alissa and I used to drink a lot of Fiano in the early 2000s, so I was excited to find some planted in the Russian River Valley,” says Beckman. “It’s an Italian grape that has some weight and a savoriness, and it paired with every food we ate. When I came across that Fiano vineyard, I knew it would make Cruess’s wine number one.”
Beckman says Balletto Vineyards owner John Balletto has been “super supportive” of the Cruess Wine brand, allowing Beckman the use of Balletto’s facilities. “I never have to hop in my car and check on a barrel somewhere,” says Beckman. “Everything is right here.”
Today, Cruess produces about 1,100 cases of wine per year. “We are 100% Sonoma County, so for us it all comes down to buying local, eating local and drinking local,” says Beckman. “There are so many top-level growers here. We don’t want to go anywhere else.”
With Pinot Noir fruit out of his price range, Beckman focuses on “statement wines” that stand out from the crowd. That means skin-fermented Gewürztraminer, Provençal-style Grenache rosé and old vine Chardonnay from the Sonoma Coast.
“Our focus isn’t on certain varietals, but rather on producing wines that show purity, authenticity and thoughtfulness,” explains Beckman. “I want our wines to make people say, ‘Wow, someone worked really hard to make this wine.’ That’s what we’re after.”
“It’s so important that we find the right vineyards and the right people to work with, so we can make the wines we want to. That is going to take some time,” Beckman says. “At the end of the day, I want our wines to be a statement about Sonoma County and what we think is beautiful and delicious.”
Cruess, 707-888-2366, cruesswine.com