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I've spoken to a half-dozen winemaker in the past two days and asked each how the grapes were looking. I heard a lot of long sighs followed by concerns about when - or if - the grapes would ever ripen in the Northwest.
Ste. Michelle Wine Estates’ operating profit rose 30 percent to $14.8 million in the second quarter, according to a securities filing by its Connecticut-based parent company, UST.
WAITSBURG, Wash. - A well-respected viticulturist and teacher died Thursday at his home in Waitsburg.
Stan Clarke, 57, was an instrumental part of the Washington wine industry since the 1970s and dedicated himself to teaching the subject he loved, friends said.
"He was the most caring, giving person," said his wife Carol Clarke, who is superintendent of the Waitsburg School District.
The cause of death appeared to be natural, although an autopsy will be performed for confirmation, she said.
She found her husband dead in their home after he hadn't arrived at Walla Walla Community College where he worked.
Clarke's knowledge and dedication to the wine industry brought him much respect in wine circles.
"He was an enormous part of the industry and touched the industry in more ways than most," said Coke Roth, a prominent wine judge and longtime friend.
Clarke got his start in Washington wine after graduating with a bachelor of science degree in viticulture from the University of California-Davis. He began working for Chateau Ste. Michelle, then helped found Quail Run - now Covey Run - where he was a winemaker and general manager.
Clarke also worked as a winemaker and general manager at Hyatt Vineyards in Zillah.
"He had a great palate," Roth said. "He was very creative and broad thinking."
Clarke eventually decided to get his master's degree in teaching from Washington State University and taught middle schoolers in the Grandview School District. He stayed active with the wine community, writing columns about wine and judging.
After about eight years, he brought his love for viticulture to Walla Walla Community College, where he helped start the Institute for Enology and Viticulture program.
"He was extraordinarily dedicated to teaching," said Myles Anderson, the founding program director. "He's been kind of a giant" in viticulture education.
Anderson said the program was the first of its kind in the state.
Friends described Clarke as easygoing, intelligent and endlessly giving of his time.
"He was a mentor to a lot of kids," said Wade Wolfe, who owns Thurston Wolfe Winery with his wife Becky Yeaman. "He was a very dynamic person. Just a great guy."
Clarke introduced Wolfe and Yeaman in 1985, Wolfe said. The couples were good friends.
"It's a huge loss both to the industry and the community," he said.
The Clarkes belong to First Christian Church in Waitsburg, where Stan Clarke taught Sunday school, his wife said.
"He cared about children of all ages," she said.
He also loved the Grateful Dead and fantasy baseball, she said. The couple have three adult sons.
Herring Groseclose Funeral Home in Walla Walla is handling the arrangements. Services have not yet been arranged.
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