SALT LAKE CITY, July 10th, 2018 — It is no secret that Utah’s industrious landscape is fertile ground for startup ventures, yet one might be surprised to learn that among the scores of young companies presently lifting off in the Beehive State, a niche wine importer is making itself right at home too. World-class dining, upmarket shopping and a vibrant cultural scene are some of the signs that Utah is growing up and rapidly becoming a far more cosmopolitan version of its former self — the sort of place where you would expect to uncork fine wine.
Celebrating this epicurean coming of age, Terrestoria Wine Imports presents The Masterclass Utah Summer Series with wine-related pop-up events and workshops centered around Salt Lake City all month long. The lineup of tastings, consisting of five modules of varying themes and formats, was designed to introduce local oenophiles to Terrestoria’s portfolio of artisan wines from Italy and Spain. All masterclasses will be guided by the company’s founder Stephanie Cuadra, a former Salt Lake resident now based in Milan, who personally collaborates with the ‘indie’ producers whose wines she sources exclusively for Utah.
Encouraged by the enthusiastic support received from local wine enthusiasts and businesses, Cuadra is intent on making Masterclass Utah an annual affair. Meanwhile, for the event’s maiden edition, Terrestoria is partnering with a notable group of venues including Cucina Wine Bar in Salt Lake’s elegant Avenues neighborhood, the charmingly independent Thyme and Place botanical shop and Harmons Grocery at City Creek, whose state-of-the-art cooking school offers food and wine aficionados a superb array of courses conducted by top-notch industry professionals such as Ty Richchouyrod.
“Masterclass Utah could not be happening at a better time,” says Richchouyrod, a vocal sommelier with worldwide reach over social media (@mrtyrich via Instagram) who oversees the food and beverage program at Salt Lake City’s posh Grand America Hotel. “We are very lucky to receive this level of attention, which allows the rest of the country to finally see how far Utah has come — and how much further our food and wine scene will be going in the next few years. It is happening so quickly that we are already beginning to outpace neighboring states when it comes to demand for fine wine allocations, both foreign and domestic. Utah offers opportunities in our industry you just cannot find elsewhere.”
But the exposure Masterclass Utah promises to bring does not stop stateside nor in the wine glass. In fact, since Cuadra began organizing the event series from Terrestoria’s Italian outpost earlier this year, she has received a barrage of inquiries from European wine producers, restaurateurs and members of the trade who are suddenly very curious about this bustling new American frontier for business, which in the process of impressive economic growth has propelled food and wine culture upward in a meteoric way. The Masterclass Utah Summer Series kicks off July 11th with The Great White Flight, an evening dedicated to small-batch varietal whites starting from the Rías Baixas of northwestern Spain all the way to one of Europe’s highest vineyard sites on Sicily’s Mount Etna. For the full event program, visit terrestoria.com/masterclass-
ABOUT TERRESTORIA WINE IMPORTS
Founded in Salt Lake City and operating from satellite offices in Milan, Terrestoria was created to foster discovery among Utah’s burgeoning community of wine enthusiasts. While focusing on lesser-known wine regions and indigenous grapes of Italy and Spain, Terrestoria partners with small-scale producers whose voices are rarely heard beyond local borders. Terrestoria champions inclusiveness in the wine industry and is proud to feature wines from the following women-run estates: Adega San Salvador de Soutomaior (D.O. Rías Baixas, Galicia); Cascina Montagnola (Colli Tortonesi DOC, Piemonte); Podere Conca (Bolgheri DOC, Tuscany); Alepa (Terre del Volturno IGT, Campania); Quarta Generazione (Aglianico del Vulture DOC, Basilicata); Santa Maria La Nave (Etna DOC, Sicily).
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