2022 IN REVIEW

Seattle's favorite summer tradition returned to our Woodinville property this summer with 28 concerts, featuring artists such as Chicago, Tenacious D, Norah Jones, Steve Miller Band and Jackson Browne. More than 120,000 music lovers descended on the Chateau's historic concert field to enjoy our award-winning wine and food from local vendors. With the backdrop of a beautiful farming valley and the soundtrack of world-renowned talent, there's nothing else quite like a concert at Chateau Ste. Michelle.

Our historic brand and wines received more accolades this year. In August, Chateau Ste. Michelle was named a Wine & Spirits “Top 100 Winery of the Year” for the 24th time, more than any other American Winery. Our winemaking team also received a total of 56 scores above 90 points for Chateau Ste. Michelle and Eroica wines from top reviewers Wine Spectator, The Wine Advocate, Wine & Spirits, Wine Enthusiast, Jeb Dunnuck, JamesSuckling.com, and Vinous.

Chateau Ste. Michelle proudly uncorked its first organic wine this year: the 2020 Limited Release Échange Cabernet Sauvignon. “Making our first organic wine was an exciting and nerve-wracking experience that required the attention of every single person in the winery," Head Red Winemaker Brian Mackey explained. "Our organic wine was blissfully unaware of the stress and effort surrounding its upbringing and made its way calmly into the bottle with all its raw and unadorned beauty intact.”

This year Chateau Ste. Michelle became the Official Wine Partner of the Seattle Pride Festival. The initiative was led by the company's new LGBTQIA+ business resource group, Blended Pride. In addition to participating in the Seattle Pride Parade, the Chateau was home to two drag show dinners, held fundraisers for Rainbow City Performing Arts, and most recently hosted Seattle Pride's Pride Speaks event.

We proudly released 51 Limited Release wines in 2022, with the first bottles going to our Vintage Reserve Club members before anyone else got a single sip. Some notable releases included Chateau Ste. Michelle’s first-ever Gamay Noir, the 2019 Artist Series Red Wine featuring label designs by local artist Jazz Brown, and a new spin on a summer favorite: Midsummer’s Red Blend.

Our winemaking team gritted through one of the most challenging harvests of the last few years, picking the final load of Riesling on November 9. We look forward to sharing the 2022 fruit with you in the coming years. Chateau Ste. Michelle also bottled 3 million cases (36 million bottles) of wine in 2022, including Katie Nelson’s first releases as Head Winemaker. Congratulations and thank you to the vineyard, winemaking, operations and supporting teams who made it all possible!