Susanne Wagner, Wine Director - Crystal Springs Resort and Restaurant Latour

Susanne Wagner oversees one of the most storied collections in the country as the wine director at Crystal Springs Resort and Restaurant Latour in Hamburg. One might expect a certain level of attitude from a person in such a role, but Wagner is warm, friendly, and engaging as she manages wine cellars holding up to 45,000 bottles. Many of these wines are considered rare “unicorns,” but this is not some museum. She has injected new life and contemporary thinking into the program.

“Our corporate business is all the way back to pre-pandemic levels and the financial stability allows for experimentation,” Wagner says. She has increased the number of organic, biodynamic, and natural wines on the list, seeing it as her responsibility to bring these wines to the forefront, and to exchange information and thoughts with her staff and customers. She’s also working on local sourcing, to complement the restaurant’s focus on local ingredients, and is thrilled to be able to work with New Jersey wineries. She especially highlights a long-standing relationship with Ventimiglia Vineyard, 10 minutes away in Wantage.

Wagner describes herself as a learner, acknowledging that other people see her as a mentor and expert. “People look to me for advice. They listen to what I have to say about wine. It is really important for me to keep educating them but in a customer-friendly way. I have a responsibility, then, to keep learning.” And while she finds guests in general more elevated in their wine interest and knowledge than when she started in 2002, “I see it mostly with our female guests. From my experience, it is more in our [women’s] nature to be adventurous and taste and appreciate different things.”

Crystal Springs Resort & Restaurant Latour
1 Wild Turkey Way, Hamburg
crystalgolfresort.com