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 and Eroica Riesling is a partnership with the Mosel's Ernst Loosen. Chateau Ste. Michelle was selected as Wine Enthusiast magazine's 2004 American Winery of the Year. It is owned by Altria.

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, founded in 1934, and the Pomerelle Wine Company. The French-style chateau is located on 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.
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.

Wines

Chateau Ste. Michelle produces over 8,000,000 cases of Riesling wine per year. 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.

Activities

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