Sterling Kragten, winemaker at Cass Winery in Paso Robles, is a native Californian. Sterling began his passion for the palate with aspirations of becoming a chef. While studying the food sciences at Cal Poly, he discovered the wine regions of Australia during a study abroad program that ventured into substantial time surfing and wine tasting. Previously a self-described boxed wine aficionado, Sterling’s palate and love for the sciences merged into a newfound obsession with viticulture. Immediately pivoting his education, he pursued winemaking at Cal Poly and continued his education in New Zealand. Earning positions at various Paso Robles wineries, Sterling’s experience and talent led him to the role of head winemaker at Cass in 2014. His experimentation, playfulness, and boldness continue to produce fruit-driven, elegant wines that reflect the vineyard. Media Inquiries: chanda@casswines.com | https://www.casswines.com/
What’s the ONE THING most unique, authentic, & memorable about your brand?
Cass Vineyard was planted in 2000 and the focus has always been “Great wine starts in the vineyard.” To achieve this, we started by planting ENTAV-certified vines. ENTAV vines are exact genetic copies of vines from famous French vineyards and are certified by the French Institute of Viticulture. These vines are more consistent in fruit size, quality, and maturity time, and are more disease-resistant. Cass Vineyard was among the first vineyards in California to be planted entirely in ENTAV-certified clones
After planting 146 Estate acres comprising 12 different varieties, in what is now the Paso Robles Geneseo District, Cass became a sustainable vineyard. Cass Vineyard became a Sustainability In Practice Certified (SIP Certified) Vineyard in the early years. In recent years we have transitioned to, and currently are, a Certified California Sustainable Winegrower (CCSW). In 2025 the winery will also be certified as a Certified California Sustainable Winery.
Having more consistent and high-quality fruit makes my winemaking easier. After all, I have been known to say, “Winemaking is 90% mother nature and 10% me trying not to screw it up.”
Describe how and what you’d do with your winemaking career or winery business if you were not constrained.
I would do two things. First, I would travel the world drinking wine. I have been fortunate enough to have done this a bit already. I have been to some of the top wine regions in the world and some of the more obscure ones. From the lava rock walls protecting vines in the Azores to the vineyards in the wildernesses of Zambia. With no constraints, I would spend more time with the vineyards, the wine, and the winemakers during “research”.
After years of drinking wine in every country (sorry, I mean “researching”) would be the next step. I would then take one grape varietal from one vineyard in every single country and make the best wine I could. I would have a large team that is responsible for each varietal but follows the same winemaking practices. In the end I would have nearly 200 wines and I would be able to literally taste the world.
What is the One Wine most emblematic of your brand and/or winemaking style? Tell us its story.
If I were stuck on a desert island, I would have my Oasis Rosè in hand all of the time! And I mean the bottle, not a glass…
That being said, my overall favorite wine and most emblematic of the Cass brand would be the Damas Noir. To give some history, Cass started making wine in 2003 and they made a single varietal Mourvèdre every year since then. I took over winemaking 10 years later in 2013 at 26 years old. In 2015 Cass was awarded “Central Coast Winery of the Year.” In 2018 when I won “Central Coast Winery of the Year” again the 2016 Mourvèdre had won “Best Red Wine.” After this award, Steve Cass came to me and asked what I thought about making a reserve version of the Mourvèdre. I laughed and said, “Steve, I already started working on one last year…” So, the 2017 Damas Noir was the first 100% Reserve Mourvèdre. I do not make it every year and it is a small lot wine, generally about 10 barrels worth.
Not only has this wine surprised and pleased a lot of palates but shows the business ethic and my winemaking style at Cass Winery. Steve lets me make the wine I want and encourages my experimentation in winemaking. In the case of the Damas Noir, this wine is composed of multiple lots of Cass Estate Mourvèdre made in a variety of ways including stem inclusion fermentation and sun-dried stem inclusion fermentation. It is then aged for 22 months in 80-90% new Russian and French Oak. You can read this wine review by clicking here.
Why Winemaking?
Some people say they have had an “ah-ha” moment when drinking a particularly delicious wine. No, not the band AH-HA but a Eureka moment! This is when something about wine just suddenly clicks. Its usually when you are just getting into drinking wine and come across that amazing food pairing, or that moment with a beautiful view, or with wonderful person.
I was cooking from a very young age and moved to the Central Coast of California to attend Cal Poly San Luis Obispo as a Food Science major. I had liked wine but since I was underage and no one in my family drank wine, when I did have some, it was coming out of a bag. I was 20 when I studied abroad in Australia by their oldest wine region, Hunter Valley, NSW. This is when I had my ‘Eureka’ moment. I was going winetasting, buying wine that was in actual bottles, and then making dinner to go with the wine. I thought, “I should be a winemaker.” And so, I did. I loved the sensory attributes of cooking, the chemistry aspects of my degree, and of course the vineyards.
I still have those “ah-ha” moments all the time when it comes to wine. Everything from that perfect food pairing does not make sense but ends up being incredibly delicious to running through an airport in Chile with your spouse so you do not miss your flight but stopping to quickly drink a bottle of wine before security. Because there is no way you are surrendering that bottle to security and this wine may actually be worth missing a flight for. Overall, the wine industry tries so hard to put words to wine. You have tasting notes, labels, and sommeliers to try to describe the wine to you and tell you what to taste. But the “ah-ha” moments with wine are indescribable and the absolute best. I love that I can help create those moments.