cooks profile
A MAN OF WINE
Curtis Worrall strives to demystify wine.
WRITTEN BY JEANNE LAUF WALPOLE
PHOTOS BY JACI GOODMAN
An entrepreneur at heart, Curtis Worrall, owner of Whispering Vine Wine Co. shops in Reno, is the quintessential self-made man. His early adulthood was spent working a variety of jobs while squeezing in classes at the University of Nevada, Reno. He spent 10 years working as a hotel bellman and then made the leap to business ownership in 1996 when he opened the Purple Bean, a coffee shop on Seventh Street in Reno.
“The original idea of the Purple Bean was to have a coffee shop and a wine shop in one location,” he says.
As Worrall developed his growing interest in wine in his early adult years, the concept for a business such as Whispering Vine began to take shape.
“I just loved wine,” he says. “I went to Napa a lot and thought about what it would take to taste wine that same way in Reno.”
Wine Retailer
He opened his first wine shop on Mayberry Drive in 1998, the same year he was awarded his bachelor of science degree in business management from UNR. Although he sold his second wine shop in Somersett after two years because of the economic downturn, Worrall opened another successful location on Foothill Road in 2010.
Although he lacks the sommelier certificates that might impress some, Worrall confesses that he probably has a naturally discerning palate that he continues to develop. In a recent blind tasting in New York with about 150 wine purveyors competing, Worrall was the only competitor to correctly identify all of the wines, which won him a free trip to Spain as the first prize. A down-to-earth kind of guy, Worrall thinks the key to good wine is simply in the tasting.
“I want to demystify wine,” he says.
Amateur Chef
Along the way, Worrall also began to grow his interest and talent in the culinary arts, becoming one of the most sought-after amateur chefs in the area.
“Food and wine go hand in hand,” he says. “My big thing is to be able to eat a good dish in a restaurant and then go home and create it.”
As a celebrity chef for a variety of area fundraisers, he has delighted guests with his duplications of short rib lasagna, truffle mac and cheese, and shrimp pesto pizza (see recipe below). Although he’s intrigued by the restaurant business, Worrall seems content to satisfy his love of food by cooking for friends and family, which includes his wife, Laura, and their kids, Katie, 15, and Kyle, 12, as well as for various events around town.
“I always think about going into the restaurant business, but it’s so much more work than what you’d think,” he says.
In the meantime, Whispering Vine Wine is doing just fine.
Jeanne Lauf Walpole is a Reno-based freelance writer who is fortunate to have three sons who love to cook.
Shrimp Pesto Pizza
(courtesy of Curtis Worrall, serves 3 to 4)
2 cups fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
¼ teaspoon sea salt
1 clove garlic
Juice of 2 limes
1 teaspoon agave nectar
3 tablespoons truffle oil
¾ cup Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons Tone’s citrus grill seasoning
Italian four-cheese blend
1½ pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
Handful cornmeal
Prepared dough for one pizza
To prepare pesto, blend cilantro leaves, sea salt, garlic, juice from one lime, agave nectar, one tablespoon of the truffle oil, and Parmesan cheese in a food processor until fairly smooth. Set aside.
Cook shrimp on medium-high for four minutes in juice of second lime, citrus grill seasoning, and two tablespoons of truffle oil. Sprinkle cornmeal on wood or plastic cutting board and then cover with parchment paper cut to fit. Roll pizza dough out on top of parchment. (It’s OK if shape is somewhat freeform and not perfectly round.) Top dough with pesto, shrimp, and Italian four-cheese blend to taste. Slide pizza and parchment onto a cold pizza stone and bake for 15 minutes at 450 degrees F, or until crust turns brown.
