Chateau Sainte Michelle has a rich heritage, established on the 1912 estate of Frederick Stimson, a lumber baron. It is located in Woodinville, not far from Seattle in Washington State, and has the longest history of any Washington winery; founded at the repeal of prohibition in 1933 by the Pomerelle Company and the National Wine Company [NaWiCo]. In 1954 these two companies merged to form the American Wine Growers [AWG], who in 1967 introduced a new range of wines produced from vitis vinifera vines under the name of Ste. Michelle. A group of investors bought out AWC in 1972 and formed a new company, calling it Ste. Michelle Vintners; this was sold to the U.S. Tobacco Company two years later and it was they who built the iconic French-style château that epitomizes the estate today, and changed its name to Chateau Sainte Michelle. It was acquired by Sycamore Partners Management, a private equity firm in 2021. They have some of the most mature vines in the state with 3,5000 acres under vine in the Columbia Valley spread throughout three vineyard sites, all on the east side of the Cascade Mountains enjoying a dry and sunny climate. The Cold Creek Vineyard was planted in 1972 with Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay and Riesling on a unique terroir of loamy sand and gravel “caliche” vein, and makes wines with intense flavours. The Canoe Ridge Vineyard in the Horse Heaven Hill's AVA, rises 950 feet above sea level, and was planted in 1991 with Cabernet Sauvignon. Merlot, Syrah and Chardonnay on deep sandy loam soils with cobblestone, and produces elegant and refined wines with concentration and structure. The Horse Heaven Vineyard is planted with Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc on soils that range from shallow to very deep silt loams and sand, and produces graceful wines. They are one of the few premium producers in the world to have two state-of -the-art wineries, one dedicated to the production of red wines and the other for whites. The reds are made at the chateau in Woodinville, and the whites at their Canoe Ridge winery. They were also the first winery to introduce international partners to Washington State and have partnered with Piero Antinori in Tuscany for Col Solare, their ultra-luxury Cabernet Sauvignon based wine, Michel Gassier and Philippe Cambie in France for their Rhône-style Tenet, and Ernst Loosen in Germany for their Eroica Riesling. In fact, Chateau Sainte Michelle is recognised as the single largest producers of Riesling in the world and Eroica has the prestigious honour of being named on Wine Spectator's “Top 100” wines list for five consecutive years! Chateau Sainte Michelle is a multi award-winning winery who produce an exemplary range of wines which combine Old World winemaking traditions with New World innovation, highlighting the style and expression of their Washington State vineyards.
www.ste-michelle.com/