| Chateau Ste. Michelle | |
| Location | Woodinville, Washington, USA |
|---|---|
| Appellation | Columbia Valley AVA |
| Formerly | American Wine Company |
| Founded | 1954 |
| Key people | Bob Bertheau, Winemaker |
| Parent company | Ste. Michelle Wine Estates (Altria) |
| Cases/yr | > 600,000 |
| 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 | http://www.ste-michelle.com/ |
The Chateau Ste. Michelle is a winery in Woodinville, Washington. The winery is noted for its best-selling Riesling bottlings. Chateau Ste. Michelle is the largest single producer of Riesling wine in the United States.[1] The winery also produces wines of other varietals and some experimental wines on a per-year basis. Ste. Michelle has a number of joint ventures with winemakers such as the Eroica Riesling with Dr. Ernst Loosen of Germany and the Col Solare Winery with the Antinori family of Italy. Chateau Ste. Michelle was selected as Wine Enthusiast magazine's 2004 American Winery of the Year.[1]
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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. Chateau Ste. Michelle and its parent company Stimson Lane were owned by US Tobacco until purchased by Altria in 2009.
With annual productions of over 2.000,000 cases a year, Chateau Ste. Michelle is the world leading producer of Riesling wine.[2] 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.[3]
On the grounds of the winery is an amphitheater where outdoor concerts are performed in the summer. Past entertainers have included Pink Martini, Amy Grant, Tori Amos, Counting Crows, Tony Bennett, Gypsy Kings, Harry Connick, Jr., Crosby, Stills & Nash, the Dave Matthews Band, Sarah McLachlan, Styx, B.B. King, and Diana Krall.
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