The Golden Key

When it comes to accessing the rarest and most inaccessible vintages, Kerrin Laz, the industry’s tour de force, lends her insider access and exquisite palate to craft hyper-personalized experiences for the residents of Four Seasons Private Residences 706 Mission. A former Wine Director for the iconic epicurean purveyor Dean & Deluca, Kerrin is the founder of K. Laz Collection, a cult-status Tasting Room & Wine Boutique featuring over 500 wine labels—including some of the most coveted and waitlisted bottles and undiscovered gems.

For our pre-Fall issue of The Golden Key, we sat down with Kerrin to delve deeper into her extraordinary craft and, specifically, how Four Seasons Private Residences 706 Mission residents can take advantage of her vast knowledge and connections to savor and collect wine.

KERRIN LAZ: My deep dive into wine from a luxury perspective was very different from most people’s when I began tasting high-end wine for the SoHo flagship of Dean & Deluca, the storied emporium of all things luxe for curated foods and spirits sourced from the finest global makers. This experience served as an incredible lens through which I got into the business. I was introduced to the best of the best—the up-and-coming vintners, some of the legendary winemakers, and notable newcomers who have since become cult wineries because of our networking power. That's what earned us a loyal following from wine connoisseurs globally.

We look at California wines—our core specialty—in two categories: The Old Guard cult wines from the 1970s to 1990s and The New Guard labels that started in the late 2000s. We are very fortunate to be in this privileged position where wineries want to be a part of our program and seek us out on a daily basis. This allows us to get a jumpstart on wines long before the wine critics get ahold of them, enabling us to secure allocations before broader distribution. It is all about access.

“Out of thousands of wines, I select around 200 labels in any given year, ensuring our collection is singular.”

The wine has to over-deliver on all fronts. It has to fit a niche for where we are, what we’re looking for, and what season it is. In this day and age, we’ve seen so many incredible brands come and go, but despite all the new labels, our wines stay iconic, which is extremely hard to achieve.

KL: The alchemy behind creating an unforgettable event or experience is about bringing together the best minds who share chemistry and approach to their craft. I run a non-profit organization for Alzheimer's and Dementia research—a small and intimate event with high impact. Each year, we bring the finest in food, ingredients, and wine; this chemistry is hard to replicate. This ethos applies to our tasting experiences at Four Seasons Private Residences 706 Mission, which aligns beautifully with the brand’s commitment to impeccable and highly personalized service, with elements of surprise and the rarefied nature of experiences offered.

We just crafted a private tasting experience at the property last week. The idea was to create a joyful seasonal event with beautiful bites to accompany the wines. For this occasion, I called on a long-time collaborator, Charles Phan, a James Beard Foundation-awarded inventor of modern Vietnamese cuisine in America and Executive Chef and Owner of the Slanted Door family of restaurants. He had just opened two new restaurants—the Slanted Door outpost in Napa and in Beaune, the wine capital of Burgundy. His food is incredibly beautiful and fresh, with just the right amount of acidity for summer.

The energy of the room—a deliberate selection of wines and their makers and extraordinary food—made for a perfect summer soireé and a remarkable feat of senses. With the highly curated selection of twelve rare wines, the residents had a chance to meet luminary vintners, Audra Chapman of Newfound Wines, John Phelps of Chris Phelps Wines, and Chris Hall of Long Meadow Ranch. 

KL: The journey of collecting wine starts with one simple question: “Why are you building a wine collection?” The reasons can range from investment to personal enjoyment to having a fantastic selection to impress friends and family. The “why” is really important as the paths of the journey depend on the intent. I am working on building a private collection right now, and the client shared an image of their sizable cellar, asking us to fill it to capacity. The secret to building a great collection is to proceed slowly and thoughtfully based on your preferences and through meticulous planning of wines to keep and the drinkable gems to have no guilt over opening. Other considerations include creating a perfect mix—how many wines need more time in the bottle, how often do they entertain, and on what occasions, and what wines are within their taste profile, which is extremely important. It is all about personalization.