Keyword(s): wine Topic: Wine
The U.S. government officially recognizes more than 250 wine-growing regions, known as American Viticultural Areas (AVAs). Twenty of those AVAs are located partially or entirely within Washington...
Joy Andersen had no idea that a career in the wine industry was awaiting her as she completed her chemistry degree at the University of Washington. It wasn’t until she started her first job at C...
Associated Vintners (AV) was a Seattle winemaking firm formed primarily by a group of University of Washington faculty members. Its backstory is perhaps the classic local instance of home garage-based...
Ted Baseler (b. 1954) grew up in Bellevue, graduated from Washington State University (WSU), and studied journalism at Northwestern University in Illinois. From there he worked at a series of advertis...
Bob Betz (b. 1948) is a leader and pioneer in the Washington wine industry. After growing up in Seattle, he took several trips to Europe and fell in love with the culture of winemaking. He abandoned h...
The Boeing Employees' Winemakers Club (BEWC) originally took flight as a hobbyist organization in 1971 when a small group of Seattle-based aeronautics coworkers, who were also amateur wine enthusiasts...
Jerry Bookwalter (b. 1940) is a pioneer wine grower and winery owner who helped bring the Washington wine industry to prominence. He arrived from California in 1976 to manage Sagemoor Farms, which had...
Paul and Judy Champoux owned and operated Champoux Vineyard from 1996 to 2014. Their love for grape growing, and each other, started in the 1980s when both worked for Chateau Ste. Michelle. With Paul ...
Chateau Ste. Michelle is a Woodinville-based winery that is Washington's largest fine-wine producer. The business was built upon the foundation of the state's most successful winemaking firm, Seattle'...
Martin Lanis (Marty) Clubb (b. 1957) is the co-owner and managing winemaker of the L’Ecole No 41 winery in Lowden, just west of Walla Walla. Marty and his wife Megan Clubb acquired the wine...
Wine grapes were one of the first cultivated fruits grown in the Pacific Northwest. Now wines made from Washington-grown grapes are among the best in the world. There are more than 750 wineries in Was...
Gary Figgins (b. 1948) launched the Walla Walla Valley wine industry in 1977 with Leonetti Cellar, the first of the Walla Walla wineries and long considered to be among the best. Figgins became famous...
Alex Golitzin (b. 1939) is a revered figure in Washington winemaking. Born in France, raised in California, and trained as an engineer, Golitzin was living in Snohomish and working at Scott Paper Comp...
Throughout his career, Doug Gore has shown that a passion for growing grapes and dedication to teamwork can not only make delicious wines but create a more accessible industry for everyone. Gore began...
In 1869, the Charles Schanno family plants the first known grapevines in the Yakima Valley on their farm near Union Gap. Finding the climate ideal for wine grape production, other settlers follow suit...
On March 26, 1892, large-scale irrigation of the Yakima Valley commences when water gushes into the Sunnyside Canal for the first time. A throng of spectators are gathered at the canal's headgates aft...
On March 22, 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Cullen-Harrision Act, legalizing the manufacture of beer and wine. The U.S. Alcohol Tax Unit -- forerunner of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacc...
In November 1934, William Bridgman starts Upland Winery, one of the first wineries in Washington to take advantage of the December 1933 repeal of Prohibition. Upland is the first bonded winery east of...
On Friday, July 11, 1969, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer's "Gourmet Spoken Here" column by Stan Reed lavishes praise on the debut commercial release of wine by Associated Vintners, Inc. (AV), a consor...
In the spring of 1972, Sagemoor manager John Pringle begins planting 280 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Riesling vines on two of Sagemoor's vineyards, Sagemoor and Bacchus, situated...
On October 13, 1974, The Los Angeles Times announces the results of a wine competition sponsored by the newspaper in which a Riesling from Washington – Ste. Michelle Vineyards' 1972 Jo...
On December 14, 1982, Washington red wines burst onto the national scene when a Cabernet Sauvignon from Walla Walla's Leonetti Cellar is named the best in the nation. The award is the result of a blin...
On April 14, 1983, F. W. Langguth Winery unveils its first vintage of Washington wines at the annual KCTS Festival of Wines in Seattle. Langguth, a German winemaking behemoth, is the first major forei...
On July 25, 1984, Seattle Post-Intelligencer wine columnist Richard Kinssies writes about the newest releases from Columbia Winery. Among them are three 1981 Cabernet Sauvignons, the first W...
On October 5, 1985, the 1983 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon from Hogue Cellars in Prosser wins Best in Show at the Atlanta International Wine Festival. The award is a stunning achievement for winery owner...
On April 26, 1987, a bill approving creation of the Washington Wine Commission is sent to Governor Booth Gardner for his signature. The bill with its controversial funding plan has passed in the House...
On April 1, 1991, the Columbia Winery releases Washington's first Syrah, inaugurating a new era in the state's red wine industry. Columbia winemaker David Lake (1943-2009) uses Syrah grapes that he an...
On April 19, 1998, the first Taste Washington, a celebration of Washington state wine and food organized by the Washington Wine Commission, is held at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle. The inaugural f...