Chateau Ste. Michelle is a winery in Woodinville, Washington, United States, 20 miles (32 km) east of Seattle. It is the state's oldest winery and 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 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | Woodinville, Washington, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 47°43′43.74″N 122°9′0.42″W / 47.7288167°N 122.1501167°W |
| Appellation | Columbia Valley AVA |
| Formerly | American Wine Company |
| Founded | 1954 |
| Key people | Bob Bertheau, Winemaker |
| Parent company | Sycamore Partners |
| Cases/yr | > 2,000,000 |
| Known for | Eroica Riesling |
| Varietals | Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot, Syrah, Chardonnay, Chenin blanc, Pinot gris, Riesling, Sauvignon blanc, Gewurztraminer |
| Distribution | International |
| Tasting | Open to the public |
| Website | ste-michelle |
History
editChateau 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 118 acres (48 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] Chateau Ste. Michelle acquired the property in 1976;[7] it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.[8]
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.[9]
Ste. Michelle Wine Estates was sold to Sycamore Partners, a private equity firm, in 2021 for $1.2 billion. Under their new ownership, the company moved its wine production out of the Woodinville property, which it briefly put up for sale in 2022 before cancelling plans. In 2024, Chateau Ste. Michelle proposed a redevelopment of its Woodinville property that would include 90 single-family homes, a hotel, a new music venue, and stores. The redevelopment would require a revised zoning designation, which remains industrial use, from the city government.[7]
Wines
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Chateau Ste. Michelle produces over 600,000 cases of Riesling wine per year.[10] 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.[11]
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.[12]
Activities
editOn the grounds of the winery is an amphitheater where outdoor concerts are performed in the summer.[13]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Perdue, Andy (August 5, 2018). "The Best of Both Worlds". The Seattle Times. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
- ^ Degerman, Eric; Perdue, Andy (November 13, 2019). "Alexandria Nicole Cellars wows at Great Northwest Invite". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
- ^ Turcic, Kerrie (September 13, 2007). "Raise a glass: Chateau Ste. Michelle celebrates 30 years in Woodinville". King County Journal. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Marlboro Maker Altria to Sell Wine Business for $1.2 Billion". Bloomberg. July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
- ^ "On Wine: 30 years of Chateau Ste. Michelle". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. September 6, 2006.
- ^ a b Beekman, Daniel (February 2, 2024). "Chateau Ste. Michelle wants to redevelop with hotel, stores, housing". The Seattle Times. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
- ^ National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Hollywood Farm. National Park Service. Retrieved February 4, 2019. With accompanying pictures
- ^ Harvey Steiman, "Washington An Open Secret", The Wine Spectator, December 15, 2010
- ^ A. King "Bonny Doon has crush on Washington Riesling" p. 26 Wine Press Northwest Spring 2007
- ^ S. Roberts Wine Trails of Washington p. 140, South Slope Productions 2007 ISBN 0-9792698-0-6
- ^ Tracy, Gerald (June 22, 2022). "Chateau Ste. Michelle moves white wine production, considers Woodinville property sale". KOMO. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
- ^ Clark, Brian (June 13, 1997). "The days of wine & music". The Olympian. p. 52.
External links
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- Official website
- History and information at vintners.net
- Farm Workers in Washington State History Project, including photographs, oral histories, digitized newspaper articles and documents from the union organizing drive and ensuing international boycott of Chateau St. Michelle during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
- Rosalinda Guillen and Joseph Moore Papers. - Court Case Documents, Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery Picket, Joseph Moore Speeding Ticket