GRASING'S

Dining Synergy in Carmel-by-the-Sea

- MARYANN WOROBIEC

Eric Ewers joined the team at Grasing’s as wine director in 2020. When the restaurant transitioned to takeout service due to COVID restrictions, Ewers had time to do a thorough inventory of the wine collection he’d inherited.

He was impressed. The deep collection of California wines included verticals of Williams Selyem Pinot Noir and bottles of Napa cult Cabernet Harlan dating to 1991. There were also plenty of collectible older Bordeaux. But Ewers also saw an opportunity to bring in new wines—secondgrowths, young Burgundies, a broader selection of California, a deeper dive into Italy and better representation from the Southern Hemisphere. Building on relationships and purchasing private wine collections offered additional rare gems. “It’s not about adding more where we were already strong. It’s about balancing where we were and where we had great potential to be stronger,” Ewers explains.

Four years and 1,000 new wines later, the list is among the most compelling in the world. Ewers insists he is only continuing the work of founding chef and proprietor Kurt Grasing.“Kurt is passionate, methodic and long term about this program,” explains Ewers. “He’s just such a genuine good soul. He’s engendered that in the people around him. And you can see it in his long-term, 20-year clients. They feel like family with him.”