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{ SOMMjournal.com } 107 B efore diving into the meat of this Cru Artisan College (CAC) Tour recap, full disclaimer : I've grown quite fond of the Cru Artisan crew. Ban 's CAC has been running strong for ve years, four of which I've participated—one as a sommelier "student," the others as a journalist reporting on the seminars, the wines, and how they were received in each city visited. I've followed the gang to Miami, Atlanta, New York, Houston, Wash - ington, D.C., Chicago, and San Francisco, while this year saw stops made in Denver, Napa, and Austin. What I haven't written about before, however, are all the adventures expe - rienced outside of the classroom. Wel- comed with open arms by Lars Leicht, Ban 's National Director of Cru Artisan Wines, with each stop in a new city, I'd watch the group embrace a different wine director/restaurateur/general manager be - fore enjoying that night's respective cuisine with appropriately paired Ban wines. This year, dinner at Compline in Napa was particularly special. Witnessing the ex- pression on Florio Quality Control Direc- tor Roberto Magnisi's face upon sampling the robiola di roccaverano goat milk cheese with the Florio Targa Riserva 1840 was a joy . . . but the expression he made while taking a bite of his very rst cheeseburger might have been even better. I also came to expect that Andrea Sar - tori, family proprietor of Sartori di Verona, would kindly offer a cigarillo after every meal—just as I was able to predict that he'd be inspecting every photographer's camera between seminars, as Sartori is an incredible photographer himself. His favorite subject? Racing snails. Like any affable visitors to America, the Italian winemakers had to politely endure more questionable fare than that served at the dinners, including mediocre pizza and fried pickles at a sports bar in Denver. Luckily, my favorite baseball team was play - ing, and Cerulli Spinozzi's Enrico Cerulli wanted to learn the rules of the game. Perhaps the most endearing sh-out- of-water moment happened in Austin at the Museum of Weird, where we joined the ranks of those lucky enough to see the Minnesota Iceman in the frozen "esh." We also dipped our toes into the Austin honky-tonk music scene, where it be - came apparent that Cerulli is a cowboy at heart—which sort of makes sense given all the sheep in Abruzzo. When it came time to depart, Magnisi's gate at the airport was different than the rest of ours, so I made it a point to try to nd him and say goodbye after getting separated in security. After waiting a stint without a Sicilian in site, I reluctantly left . . . only to nd him waiting at my gate. Likewise, when leaving the rest of the gang in New Orleans after a blind speed-tasting at Commander's Palace, it wasn't just the humidity dampening my eyes. Despite the friendships I've made, I must repor t on this year's tour in a nonpar tisan Cliffs Note–esque composi - tion to help organize and summarize the incredible volume of information dissemi- nated to this year's somm students. Don't view these cheat sheets as a substitute, however : The writer of this par ticular guide assures that they hardly come close to the real thing. I highly encourage you to attend should you be lucky enough to receive a visit from the CAC crew in your own city in future years. BACKGROUND Cru Artisan College aims to offer a full day of Italian-centric education featuring the best of the Cru Artisan portfolio—Ban Vintner's luxury selection of wines—at each tour stop. For the second consecu - tive year, they've partnered with the Wine Scholar Guild (WSG) to take advantage of its thorough resource materials and highly specialized instructors, including Maurizio Broggi, creator of the WSG's Italian Wine Scholar program. Broggi gave some gen - eral background at each seminar, remind- ing students of topics like Italian wine law, its classications, and the history of the country's respective regions. A brainchild of Leicht's, the CAC has evolved to become more insightful and focused with each passing year. This time around, somms in Denver, Napa, and Austin explored and tasted through the regions of Emilia-Romagna, Alta Langa, Colline Teramane Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, Montalcino, Valpolicella, and Sic - ily. The participants were also given an op- portunity to win a WSG Italian scholarship or cash prize through an optional blind- tasting. They then received their diplomas no later than 3:30 p.m., giving them time to get to work and immediately put their knowledge to use. Leicht also began the experience in each city by remembering late Castello Ban winemaker Rudy Buratti, who died of cancer in January. "Rudy spoke with the re and brimstone of a Baptist preacher, and when I would translate for him, it felt as if I was at a revival," Leicht said. "He'd get me by the heart. We miss him very much and we want to humbly, bravely, and respectfully dedicate our day today to our colleague, friend, and mentor." Lorena Camarena and Joyce Tarantino celebrate with their "University of Banfi" CAC diplomas in Napa. PHOTO: JOHN CURLEY