On March 1, chef Craig Wilmer officially stepped into a new role as executive estate chef at Auteur Wines.
It’s a natural fit, bringing his Michelin-caliber culinary vision to align with Laura and Kenneth Juhasz’s terroir-driven, elegant wines.
Wilmer’s résumé reflects both classical rigor and creative range. A Culinary Institute of America graduate, he honed his craft through culinary immersion across France, Spain and Denmark before joining the kitchens of celebrated Bay Area chefs Dominique Crenn and Erik Anderson. His leadership roles at Petit Crenn, COI, Barndiva and most recently Farmhouse Inn shaped a style that fuses global inspiration with a deep respect for local and foraged ingredients.
In this new position, Wilmer is crafting pairing menus designed to complement Auteur’s small-lot pinot noir and chardonnay, at both the Russian River Estate and Sonoma Square Bungalow locations, drawing on coastal influences and regional purveyors.
Amber Turpin: How did you get into this work?
Craig Wilmer: Serendipitously? Accidentally? Arbitrarily? Not so sure myself. I reached a point, as all young people do, where you have to do something with your life… So I picked being a chef, because I wanted to be skilled at something that was immediately tangible.
Did you ever have an ‘aha’ moment with a certain beverage? If so, tell us about it.
Chinato (a bittersweet, fortified Italian dessert wine) with chocolate. The combination helped me understand the height of where a wine pairing could actually go. It’s my gold standard of what to look for in a pairing, in the sense of how the food and wine change under each other’s influence.
As much as I would love my food pairings with wine to always be that good, at Auteur I start by looking to contrast with the wine first in terms of seasoning—think: a burger and coke, or Champagne and caviar—and making sure the flavors compliment each other.
Finding those mirroring flavor profiles which then cancel each other, and thus hopefully revealing more, is the next step we are currently taking. It takes quite a bit of trial-and-error… Sometimes to really know, you just have to taste and see.
What is your favorite thing to drink at home?
Gin and tonics.
Where do you like to go out for a drink?
A small, beautiful restaurant where you can feel the care and craft.
If you were stuck on a desert island, what would you want to be drinking (besides fresh water)?
Old Champagne and old scotch. Maybe some 1996 Salon and Lagavulin 25.
Auteur Russian River Winery, 10520 Wohler Rd., Healdsburg, 707.766.0222, auteurwines.com.
