Seattle Times
January 19, 2018

Head winemaker Bob Bertheau holds back the grapes from one of Chateau Ste. Michelle’s few estate vineyards for powerful reserve-tier wines.

A HALF-CENTURY AGO, Walter Clore, “The Father of Washington Wine,” thought a bowl-shaped valley north of the Yakima Valley town of Sunnyside would be a perfect place to grow wine grapes. He suggested as much to Chateau Ste. Michelle, which then — as now — was the state’s largest wine producer. Clore had retired from Washington State University and turned consultant, with Ste. Michelle as one of his clients.

On his suggestion, the company planted 500 acres of grapes — a move that effectively doubled the vineyard planting in the state. The devastating winter of 1978 left the vineyard in ruin, primarily because the vine roots hadn’t been planted deeply enough>>>Read the entire article on The Seattle Times