California wine-maker Ryan Zepaltas is an Eau Claire boy at heart having grown up here, shredded many a bank parking lot with his skateboard, spun records for seminal alt-art rockers Three Liter Hit, and obtained a degree in Sales and Marketing from UWEC. And while sponsorship for his skating became the initial dream and draw of the Golden State, he was ever balancing both his board and budget and about to come off the rails.  Still, it seems a long and rather incongruous line from halting grinds to harvesting grapes. Ryan explains, “I kind of stumbled into the wine industry because I ran out of money in the middle of Sonoma County in the summer of 1998. I got a job as a harvest intern at La Crema. It was a fast track from there.  I got a job working for Pinot Noir legends Siduri; Adam and Dianna Lee actually encouraged me to start my own label, and in 2004 I made 40 cases of wine.”  Today, that number is closer to 2000. In 2007, Zepaltas Wines was named one of the “Hot New Dozen of California Pinot Noir,” by Robert Parker, in The Wine Spectator.  In 2008, they were named a winery of the year by Wine & Spirits Magazine.  They have also made San Francisco’s “Top 100 Wines” list.  Join Ryan as he returns to EC for a special evening of tasting, dining, and wine pairing at the Coffee Grounds Friday, June 15.