Welcome,
|
| Request Activation |
It has long been rumored that the few rows of vines at the entrance to Chateau Ste. Michelle in Woodinville, Wash., were required so the winery could be called a "chateau."
PROSSER -- Construction is expected to start soon on the next phase of what backers say will be the state's premier educational and promotional center for Washington's wines and food products.
Profit is the main reason wine companies exist. OK, call me a cynic. But that's a reality of life. Without profits, a company would collapse, and wine couldn't be made.
Now that that bit of cynicism is out of the way, let's look at the secondary motives of wine companies. Some want profits to be as high as possible and damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead. This means that quality takes a far less important role than it ought to. And in some cases, this "quality ain't the issue" attitude has a way of tearing at the fabric of what once may have been a classic enterprise.
One that comes to mind dates back a decade to when John Dyson, a New York winery owner, bought the iconic Russian River Valley Pinot Noir producer Williams Selyem. The first words I heard from Williams Selyem loyalists were gloomy predictions that Dyson would immediately ratchet up production, destroy the fine image and wreck the wines.
What wasn't known at the time was Dyson is a respectful man who wanted little more than to own the finest Pinot Noir house in the New World. Or that he spent three years negotiating the deal to the ultimate satisfaction of Burt Williams and Ed Selyem, and that his plans for the property were to make it even greater than it had been. And with Bob Cabral at the helm, the house remains a stellar producer of quality wines.
By contrast, there is the case of British-based Heublein and its stewardship (if the term applies) of the late, lamented Inglenook, founded in 1879 in the heart of the Napa Valley. To say that Heublein raped the image and ran the ship aground is mild. At the wake closing the facility, employees wept at the loss of historical legacy and the dismantling of a great and truly magnificent brand.
Some companies, obviously, see only dollar signs; others are respectful of the soil, the terroir, the image and the legacy.
And thus it is that I envision great things for Stag's Leap Wine Cellars in its second incarnation as a division of Chateau Ste. Michelle and, of course, its partnership with the Marchesi Piero Antinori.
Ste. Michelle can only be described as a giant with heart, a company that has grown to become the largest in Washington but without ever taking its eye off the concept of image and quality. As well as value. And its recent acquisition of one of the Napa Valley's most important producers is not only a great moment for President Ted Baseler, but also an even greater decision on the part of Warren Winiarski, who undoubtedly had more than one offer to acquire his prize jewel and who made a decision that, I seriously suspect, was less about money and more about heart.
I've been covering the wine industry as a reporter for more than 30 years and of all the wine companies with which I've come into contact, almost none have the personal integrity and the commitment to people (both employees and consumers) as do Ste. Michelle and Antinori. Say what cynical remarks may come to mind, but I couldn't think of a better fit than these two entities becoming the new owners of a brand as vital to California's image as Stag's Leap.
A few important points about why this all works:
- Ste. Michelle already has roots in the Napa Valley, with a skilled staff that is seeking to make world-class wine there.
- Antinori also has roots there, in the Atlas Peak area.
- Winiarski is best known for his world-famed Cabernet Sauvignon, but his other wines are equally superb, yet have had the unfortunate luck to be in the same house with the wine that vanquished the French in 1976. A 30-year wait may be over for those "other" wines to get their fair share of recognition. This means a superb Chardonnay, a sublime Sauvignon Blanc and other wines will finally be placed on a more visible stage where they rightly belong. (Until now, Winiarski has been so busy managing his Cabernet image that the other wines haven't been given due recognition.)
- The sale allows Winiarski to drop some of the humdrum, day-to-day aspects of running a large winery so he can become more of the spokesman-philosopher-terroir-ist he probably prefers. We have not yet heard the last of Warren!
A key point about Ste. Michelle is its commitment to wines that exhibit local characteristics, and in this acquisition the winery gets its hands on one of the Napa Valley's most important and historic Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot vineyards, in a region that seems to have some of the most identifiable regional elements for its red wines of any in the country.
A key point about Antinori is that everything he touches is marked with class. I will never forget a blazing hot day in Aspen decades ago during a wine festival. The temperature in a tent was well over 100. Antinori was the only vintner who never took off his tie! And he smiled and greeted every guest to his table with a warmth that was utterly genuine.
If you have ever tasted one of his house's classic Chianti Classico Riserva wines, or Tignanello, or Solaia, you will understand what drives this man. Quality is the key to his persona.
Thinking of the two new owners of this most important Napa property, I'd say Stag's Leap Wine Cellars is under trustworthy stewardship, a development for which all wine lovers should be thankful.
Wine Press Northwest is pleased to be able to offer its users the opportunity to make comments and hold conversations online. However, the interactive nature of the internet makes it impracticable for our staff to monitor each and every posting.
Since WinePressNW.com does not control user submitted statements, we cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted on our website. In addition, we remind anyone interested in making an online comment that responsibility for statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not Wine Press Northwest.
If you find a comment offensive, clicking on exclamation icon will flag the comment for review by the administrators, we are counting on the good judgment of all our readers to help us.
Print
E-Mail