"Cruse Wine Co." and "Ultramarine" are the California brands that are currently attracting the most attention from around the world. Michael Cruse, the owner and winemaker of these two brands, majored in biochemistry at UC Berkley and after graduating, he learned winemaking from a scientific perspective at SutterHome and Starmont. He did not receive any formal winemaking education, but instead taught himself wine science through trial and error and on-site experience, and founded Cruse Wine Co. and Ultramarine in 2013. Just three years later, he was selected as Winemaker of the Year by the San Francisco Chronicle, and was in the spotlight as a maverick in the California wine industry. The "Cruse Wine Co." brand produces wines with the pure fruitiness and transparency unique to California, as well as a strong structure, and the "Ultramarine" brand produces fragrant, handmade sparkling wines from single vineyards and single vintages, inspired by Champagne's Recoltant Manipulant. Even star-ranked restaurants in the US only allocate a few bottles per year, making this a popular wine that many sommeliers and wine buyers are desperate to get their hands on. As if symbolizing California wine in an age of diversity, they create complex, distinctive, and fresh wines without being confined to traditional styles or grape varieties. They actively use word-of-mouth and social media as marketing tools, and are making a leap into the world as an up-and-coming winemaker who will lead the next generation.