QUINCY — Craig Mitrakul wanted something stronger than soda pop.
Armed with a new bachelor’s degree in food science from Rutgers University in 1994, Mitrakul’s first job was as a researcher working on artificial sweeteners. The job may have been a sweet deal as far as compensation and security, but it left the New Jersey native thirsty for something more.
“I decided I really didn’t want to know everything there is to know about soda,” he said.
Two local vintners and a growing number of Washington wine drinkers can be thankful that Mitrakul decided to leave the job and go to graduate school at Cornell University. There he discovered the magic of the grape during a master’s research project that put him to work in a university extension vineyard in upstate New York. His newfound excitement about the art and science of wine production eventually led him to several jobs across the nation and in Australia.
His current profession as a winemaker has him head of production of not one but two of the region’s acclaimed wineries. Saint Laurent Winery and Ryan Patrick Winery joined forces last fall and built a new wine production facility in Quincy to better use the services of the winemaker they also share. In other ways, the two wineries remain separate, specializing in different styles of wine and harvesting grapes from different vineyards. Both wineries have produced award-winning and high-scoring vintages under Mitrakul’s direction.
Ryan Patrick has its tasting room and offices in Leavenworth. Saint Laurent has a tasting room, concert venue and offices in Malaga.
Mitrakul, 35 and now living in Wenatchee with his wife, Danielle, and two young children, says the dual role offers him a rare opportunity to use and grow his talents in different ways.
“I feel fortunate to be able to work with two wineries. It’s a unique situation. Wineries, by nature, are pretty competitive. But these two have the vision to be able to work together,” he said in a recent interview at the new production plant.
While he outlined his career for a reporter, Mitrakul kept busy at his work in a laboratory room nestled between a row of huge stainless steel fermentation tanks. He used a titration stand to drip wine into a flask of chemical solution to determine the wine’s acid level. A row of glasses were lined up, each with a sample from barrels of various 2006 reds that would eventually be blended for best taste and consistency. He moved between tasks with confidence and obvious experience that is somewhat baffling considering his youthful, collegiate looks and almost apologetic manner.
“He looks so young he still gets carded sometimes when he goes to a show to display his wine,” said Ryan Patrick’s owner, Terry Flanagan, with a laugh. Flanagan said Mitrakul’s youthful looks and humility — unusual in a winemaker of his caliber — cause some people to miss his broad experience.
“He makes excellent wine and is very precise. He leaves nothing to chance,” Flanagan said. “Winemaking is a marriage of art and science. Craig is one of the guys who has the art side down and knows the science very well.”
“He’s soft-spoken, but he can be demanding in what he wants and needs to make great wine,” added Mike Mrachek, co-owner with his wife, Laura, of Saint Laurent Winery. “He didn’t allow me to cut corners when we were building the winery. That’s a good thing. He’s really precise and he has a great concept in what wine is supposed to taste like.”
In 2004, Flanagan hired Mitrakul on the recommendation of heralded wine consultant Charlie Hoppes to head up wine production at the winery’s new facilities in Rock Island. Saint Laurent had been bringing its grapes to the Ryan Patrick plant since 2003 for custom production of their wine, which fell under Mitrakul’s direction after he was hired.
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