Chateau Ste. Michelle Wins "2013 Winery of the Year" by Wine Press Northwest Magazine
03.19.2013
Chateau Ste. Michelle took top honors as the "2013 Pacific Northwest Winery of the Year" by Wine Press Northwest . In the magazine's Spring 2013 issue, it referred to Chateau Ste. Michelle as, "one winery more than any other carries the message of Washington wine to the world." The winery earned the magazine's highest honor among wineries in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and British Columbia.
According to Wine Press Northwest, the Winery of the Year is selected based on longevity, quality, reputation, industry involvement, facilities, and other considerations. A winery may win the award only once.
The Winery of the Year article profiles the winery's rich history, winemakers Bob Bertheau and Wendy Stuckey, Chateau Ste. Michelle's award-winning Rieslings and other varietals and the winery's importance to Washington.
The article reads, "In the Northwest and across the country, a wine drinker’s first experience tasting Washington wine often is a glass of Chateau Ste. Michelle. A good impression could bring customers to the state’s 700- plus wineries — and a bad one could send them forever to California, Australia, France or Italy. “That is a lot of responsibility, and I take it extremely seriously,” said Bob Bertheau, Ste. Michelle’s head winemaker. “My treasured moments are when someone comes up to me and says, ‘Ste. Michelle is the wine I trust.”
"Chateau Ste. Michelle was born in the shadow of Repeal. Two wineries, Pommerelle and National Wine Co., launched in 1934 in Seattle, just months after the 21st Amendment was ratified. The fierce rivals merged 20 years later and became American Wine Growers. In 1965, it was renamed Ste. Michelle Vintners and two years later hired famed Napa winemaker André Tchelistcheff as its consultant — a sign it was getting serious."
