Chateau Ste. Michelle

Chateau Ste. Michelle is Washington State's oldest winery, located in Woodinville, Washington, near Seattle. It produces Chardonnay, Cabernet, Merlot, and Riesling, and has winemaking partnerships with two vintners: Col Solare is an alliance with Tuscany's Piero Antinori[1] and Eroica Riesling is a partnership with the Mosel's Ernst Loosen.[2] Chateau Ste. Michelle was selected as Wine Enthusiast magazine's 2004 American Winery of the Year.[3] It was owned by Altria (formerly known as Phillip Morris),[4] and then sold to the private equity firm Sycamore Partners in 2021.[5]

Chateau Ste. Michelle
LocationWoodinville, Washington, USA
Coordinates47°43′43.74″N 122°9′0.42″W
AppellationColumbia Valley AVA
FormerlyAmerican Wine Company
Founded1954 (1954)
Key peopleBob Bertheau, Winemaker
Parent companySycamore Partners
Cases/yr> 2,000,000
Known forEroica Riesling
VarietalsCabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot, Syrah, Chardonnay, Chenin blanc, Pinot gris, Riesling, Sauvignon blanc, Gewurztraminer
DistributionInternational
TastingOpen to the public
Websiteste-michelle.com

History

Chateau Ste. Michelle is the oldest winery in Washington state. It was founded as the American Wine Company, a 1954 merger of the National Wine Company (NAWICO), founded in 1934, and the Pomerelle Wine Company. (For years, there was a large neon sign advertising NAWICO in Seattle's Wallingford neighborhood.) The French-style chateau is located on 87 acres (35 ha) of land with mature trees that once belonged to lumber baron Frederick Stimson, who used it as a hunting retreat and rural working farm called the Hollywood Farm.[6] The property was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.[7]

Over the years, many Washington winemakers have gotten their start working for Chateau Ste. Michelle, these include Kay Simon of Chinook Wines, which she co-founded with her husband Clay Mackey who also worked as a vineyard manager for Chateau Ste. Michelle.[8]

Wines
The grounds of Chateau Ste. Michelle in Woodinville wine country.

Chateau Ste. Michelle produces over 8,000,000 cases of Riesling wine per year.[9] The winery owns several estate vineyards in Eastern Washington including the Canoe Ridge vineyard in the Horse Heaven Hills AVA, the Cold Creek vineyard and Indian Wells vineyards in the Columbia Valley AVA.[10]

With the 2022 harvest, Chateau Ste. Michelle moved its white wine production from Woodinville to its facilities in eastern Washington to reduce freight trips and use of diesel fuel.[11]

Activities

On the grounds of the winery is an amphitheater where outdoor concerts are performed in the summer.[12]

See also

References
  1. Perdue, Andy (August 5, 2018). "The Best of Both Worlds". The Seattle Times. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  2. Degerman, Eric; Perdue, Andy (November 13, 2019). "Alexandria Nicole Cellars wows at Great Northwest Invite". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  3. Turcic, Kerrie (September 13, 2007). "Raise a glass: Chateau Ste. Michelle celebrates 30 years in Woodinville". King County Journal. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  4. Perdue, Andy (November 2, 2017). "How 2 events 50 years ago poured life into Washington's wine industry - 2017 Wine Issue". The Seattle Times. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  5. "Marlboro Maker Altria to Sell Wine Business for $1.2 Billion". Bloomberg. July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  6. "On Wine: 30 years of Chateau Ste. Michelle". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. 6 September 2006.
  7. National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Hollywood Farm. National Park Service. Retrieved February 4, 2019. With accompanying pictures
  8. Harvey Steiman, "Washington An Open Secret", The Wine Spectator, Dec. 15, 2010
  9. A. King "Bonny Doon has crush on Washington Riesling" p. 26 Wine Press Northwest Spring 2007
  10. S. Roberts Wine Trails of Washington p. 140, South Slope Productions 2007 ISBN 0-9792698-0-6
  11. Tracy, Gerald (June 22, 2022). "Chateau Ste. Michelle moves white wine production, considers Woodinville property sale". KOMO. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  12. Clark, Brian (June 13, 1997). "The days of wine & music". The Olympian. p. 52.
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