Cruse Wine

Born in San Francisco, Michael Cruse calls himself a “gold star Californian.” Aged 10 he moved to Petaluma and later studied biochemistry at UC Berkeley. He worked at Sutter Home and after spending a year there, he worked at Stormont, Merryvale’s Carneros property, eventually becoming associate winemaker. Growing restless to launch his own project, he founded the Ultramarine sparkling wine label, then in 2013 the Cruse Wine Co., a small winery and custom crush facility in Petaluma. In 2016 Michael Cruse was the San Francisco Chronicle’s Winemaker of the Year.