Co-owner of the new Vin Vivant in the Capitola Village, Ryan Cooley has a 14-year industry pedigree that includes seven years as a certified sommelier. His interest in wine germinated as a fine dining server who found himself volunteering his time helping his restaurant’s wine director. In exchange, Cooley gained experience and encouragement along with a growing sense of passion.
He then became a somm, working at a Michelin star restaurant in Carmel where he met Vin Vivant’s other co-owner John Haffey, himself an award-winning sommelier. Sharing an ethos centered on a combined love of wine and hospitality, they began looking to start a business and opened Vin Vivant two months ago. Cooley describes the space as cozy and comfortable, small and quaint, with vintage art, a plant wall and an ocean view patio providing ample ambiance. Their wine selection features 400 labels and over 1,000 bottles, about 30 available by-the-glass, with eclectic options both local and worldly.
The food program is intentional artisan-crafted small bites curated as ideal pairings. Chef Talia Damon designs and cooks a pastry program featuring tomato milk bread with rosemary compound butter and smoked sea salt, an olive oil cake and more. Other culinary offerings include high-end charcuteries from northern California purveyors, rotating craft cheeses, Castelvetrano olives and Marcona almonds.
What about wine inspires you?
RYAN COOLEY: My love for wine comes from my passion for hospitality and storytelling. Behind every bottle of wine, especially ones that we select, there is often a story to be told about a small grower that is farming consciously and intentionally, producing wines sustainable on the land and made with minimal intervention. Drinking these wines, I create a picture of what the grower and the land went through during that vintage, and tasting that balance and interplay between farming and wine-making technique leads to the experience I love about wine.
What is your favorite part of drinking wine?
I’ve never been the best at calling out specific flavors or spices, but one thing I’ve always had a knack for is discerning structure and texture in wine. Things like levels of tannins, sugar, alcohol and acid, and how all these elements contribute not only to flavor and food pairings, but also the texture and mouthfeel of wine, which can sometimes be overlooked but contributes greatly to overall drinkability.
115 San Jose Ave., Suite G, Capitola, 831-476-2282; vinvivantcapitola.com
