Friday, Aug. 20, 2010

Chateau Ste. Michelle's 'estate vineyard'

By Andy Perdue, Wine Press Northwest

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."

Not so, says CEO Ted Baseler. Rather, when Washington's iconic winery was built in 1976, the owners felt a long lane and vines leading up to the chateau would provide visitors a special experience - and Ste. Michelle with an Old World feel.

The problem was that these vines were not used for any of the production and got a bit wild and run down. Additionally, because much of the area leading up to the winery was taken up with these vineyards, some visitors were under the impression that these were Ste. Michelle's production vineyards, rather than bird feeders.

"People actually talked about us planning to expand into Eastern Washington!" Baseler said with a deep chuckle.

A few years ago, Baseler had the vines pulled out and more climate-proper varieties put in. They are now maintained better, and there are just a few rows, so there is little chance visitors will think the winery's nearly 2 million cases of wine come solely from them.