Washington wine’s next generation: Kari Smasne’s career shift led her to Canoe Ridge Estate

(photo – Kari Smasne walks through merlot vines at Canoe Ridge Estate’s vineyard in Washington’s Horse Heaven Hills. The vineyard is owned by Ste. Michelle Wine Estates. Smasne took over as vineyard manager early this year. by Andy Perdue)

A quarter-century ago Ste. Michelle Wine Estates planted a vineyard that sweeps down from the Horse Heaven Hills to the Columbia River.

It is called Canoe Ridge Estate, named for the ridge upon which it sits. The story goes that Lewis and Clark named it as they floated past in 1805, believing the hill looked like an upside-down canoe. While no mention of this is found in the Corps of Discovery’s journals, there is no doubt the intrepid explorers were fully aware of what an overturned canoe looked like by that point…read more on The Seattle Times