Great NW Wine: Ste. Michelle CEO Baseler to retire Oct. 1

Published: Wed, 08/29/18

Wine of the Week

Telaya Wine Co.
2016 Turas Red Wine, Snake River Valley

This marks the ninth bottling of the flagship wine for Earl and Carrie Sullivan at Telaya Wine Co., and the Garden City brand used this Syrah-based blend to win best red wine at the 2018 Idaho Wine Competition.

Aside from the Syrah (63%) from Sawtooth Vineyard and Skyline Vineyard's Block 46, it's supported by Malbec and Merlot from Scoria and Daniel vineyards. The youthful red that spent 20 months in 20% new French oak barrels carries a deep theme of blackberry, blueberry and plum with a silky tannin structure and bright acidity, a delicious combination.

The Sullivans have scheduled this to be released after Labor Day, but they are taking orders.

Price: $32

Production: 600 cases

Alcohol: 13.9%

Winery website

Value wine
of the Week

Townshend Cellar
NV Red Table Wine, Columbia Valley

Don Townshend launched his eponymous winery in the Greenbluff community near Spokane, Wash., with the 1998 vintage, and the second generation appears firmly in place. Brendon Townshend and his brother Michael used their Cabernet Sauvignon-based blend with Merlot and Syrah to wow judges at the Washington State Wine Competition, earning a double gold.

Despite being a nonvintage, it's a classic, easy-drinking and balanced red wine that Washington state continues to build a reputation for, offering a wealth of blackberry, dark cherry and chocolate. Their use of Syrah to build the midpalate falls right in line with some of the region's most approachable proprietary red wines. And the scale of this production, along with the price, makes it a fascinating value from this growing family-owned winery that produces its wine about two miles east of Gonzaga University.

Their wines are available at restaurants and retailers in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana, as well as online.

Price: $10

Production: 8,000 cases

Alcohol: 13.5%

Winery website

Willamette Valley Big Red Wine Trail

The fifth semi-annual Big Red Wine Trail in the Willamette Valley continues through Labor Day among wineries that offer big bold reds at discounts and perks to club members from other wineries.

Participating tasting rooms extend their club perks to wine club members from other wineries.

The 17 participating tasting rooms are August Cellars, Bravura Cellars, Cathedral Ridge Winery's tasting room in Dundee, Cliff Creek Cellars in Newberg, Cougar Crest Estate Winery in Dundee, Day Wines, Dominio IV Wines, Hawkins Cellars, K&M Wines, Pinot Vista Tasting Lounge, Purple Cow Vineyards downtown Newberg tasting room, Remy Wines, Stone Griffon Vineyard, Terra Vina Wines, Troon Vineyard's Carlton wine bar, VinTyr and Zerba Cellars tasting room in Dundee.

Events calendar

Check out our revamped events calendar, which shows what is happening in the wine countries of Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and Idaho.

Have an event? Please visit this link to add it.

Ste. Michelle CEO Baseler retires after 17 historic years

Ted Baseler, who led Ste. Michelle Wine Estates through a period of record growth, announced his retirement last week. On Oct. 1, he ends his 34-year career with the company where he spent the past 17 as its president and CEO.

Baseler, 64, started with the winery in 1984, when Allen Shoup hired him as director of marketing. Since taking over as CEO in 2000, the company has grown from $21 million in operating income to $146 million last year, an annual growth of 12.1 percent.

Auction of Washington Wines surpasses $4 million again

For the second straight year, the Auction of Washington Wines topped $4 million in fundraising to Seattle Children’s Hospital and Washington State University’s viticulture and enology program.

Wine Spectator magazine ranks it among the top five charity wine auctions in the U.S., and research by the Puget Sound Business Journal indicates the Auction of Washington Wines has grown into the fourth-largest charity event in the greater Seattle area.

Idaho industry recruits elite panel to judge Gem State wines

Last week, the ninth annual Idaho Wine Competition represented 39 of the state's 52 wineries, and judges included Mike Dunne, wine writer for the Sacramento (Calif.) Bee; Lane Hoss, wine buyer for Anthony’s Restaurants; Bill Ward, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune’s James Beard Award-winning wine writer; and Sheri Sauter Morano, a Master of Wine from Durham, N.C.

They selected Martin Fujishin's Lost West Winery 2017 Riesling as best of show. In March, the Snake River Valley winemaker's flagship Fujishin Family Cellars brand was named 2018 Idaho Winery of the Year by Wine Press Northwest magazine.

Juan Muñoz Oca hands reins of Columbia Crest to Katie Nelson

Katie Nelson rejoined Ste. Michelle Wine Estates named as senior director of winemaking for Columbia Crest in Prosser, putting her in charge of more than 1 million cases annually.

She succeeds Juan Muñoz Oca, who will shift his focus to Ste. Michelle’s young and fascinating INTRINSIC Wine Co., and Borne of Fire projects. Nelson spent 17 years as a SMWE winemaker prior to overseeing Eastern Washington winemaking for Charles Smith and his Wines of Substance project.

Walla Walla CC grad takes over winemaking at Bergevin Lane

Another alum of College Cellars in Walla Walla achieved the rank of head winemaker when Bergevin Lane Vineyards promoted Sean Smith to take over the 10,000-case winery.

General manager/founding partner Annette Bergevin brought on Smith as cellar master in 2012, soon after he graduated from Walla Walla Community College’s viticulture and enology program. He replaces Dave Harvey, who recently began making crowdfunded wines for California-based Naked Wines.

Lenné Estate shows finesse, sense of place with Pinot Noir

Steve and Karen Lutz relocated to Oregon in 1998 after spending a year living in Karen’s native England, near her parents. They moved to Oregon to be near additional family members and a wine region on the rise that their Lenné Estate would be a part of.

Steve had spent a number of years prior in the Napa Valley, working for well-known Napa Valley icons including the Mondavi family and Bill Harlan, so the Lutzes purchased a property in the Yamhill-Carlton American Viticultural Area – one perfectly suited to grape growing.

White Rhônes finding homes throughout Pacific Northwest

Syrah thrives throughout the Pacific Northwest in rather famous fashion, depending upon the region. Grenache, another red grape native to France’s Rhône Valley, is surging into prominence, too.

Recently, their white relatives — Viognier, Roussanne and Marsanne — have begun to develop an audience. This spring, Wine Press Northwest cast a spotlight on these overlooked white Rhône varieties, but no one in our corner of the world is as bullish on Viognier as Maryhill Winery in Goldendale, Wash.

Winemaking talents from Elkton to Ashland make it So. Oregon

When people mention “Oregon wine country,” many assume they are talking about the bucolic Willamette Valley, the northern region in the Beaver State that's now famous worldwide for its Pinot Noir.

While the Willamette Valley garners most of the press and is home to a large number of wineries as well as the International Pinot Noir Celebration, there’s a vast and diverse region that stretches from the California border to the southern edge of the Willamette Valley and now features the Oregon Tempranillo Celebration in Ashland.

Umikers in Idaho showcase easternmost vines in Wash.

Perhaps the most interesting vineyard in the young Lewis-Clark Valley American Viticultural Area is
Rock n’ J Vineyard.

This small planting in Asotin County is in a canyon along the Grande Ronde River, near the corner where Washington, Oregon and Idaho meet, making this the easternmost vineyard in Washington. It's also a key component in the program of Coco Umiker at Clearwater Canyon Cellars in Lewiston, Idaho.

New wine reviews posted

We have posted several new reviews, including:

Bella Wines 2017 King Family Farms Ancestrale Sparkling Chardonnay,
Okanagan Valley
Wines by Luke 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon, Wahluke Slope
Rain Dance Vineyards 2016 Estate
Pinot Noir, Chehalem Mountains
Browne Family Vineyards 2016 Chardonnay, Columbia Valley
Belle Fiore Winery 2014 Belle Arte
Estate Montepulciano, Rogue Valley
Parma Ridge Winery 2016 Parma Ridge Vineyards Estate Dry Rosé of Merlot,
Snake River Valley
Ste. Chapelle 2015 Panoramic Idaho
Petite Sirah, Snake River Valley
SuLei Cellars 2016 Roussanne, Yakima Valley
Reininger Winery 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon, Walla Walla Valley
Mercer Estates 2017 Culloden Vineyard Viognier, Horse Heaven Hills
Apex Cellars 2016 The Catalyst Red Blend, Columbia Valley
Ridge Crest 2015 White Bluffs Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley
Milbrandt Vineyards 2014 The Estates Malbec, Wahluke Slope
Adega Northwest 2015 Firethorn Vineyard Trillium Block Cabernet Sauvignon,
Columbia Valley/Oregon
Stina's Cellars 2014 Tempranillo,
Wahluke Slope
Convergence Zone Cellars 2014 Storm Front BDX Blend, Columbia Valley
SuLei Cellars 2016 Roussanne,
Yakima Valley
Ste. Chapelle 2015 Panoramic Series
Petit Verdot, Snake River Valley
Kirkland Signature Series 2015 Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley
Dusted Valley Vintners 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley
Canoe Ridge Vineyard 2017 The Expedition Sauvignon Blanc, Columbia Valley
Ruby Vineyard and Winery 2015 Estate Blend Pinot Noir, Chehalem Mountains
TruthTeller Winery 2017 Quip Rosé,
Yakima Valley
Cavatappi Winery 2017 Pinot Grigio, Columbia Valley
Mercer Family Vineyards 2016 Edge of Heaven Blend Red Wine, Horse Heaven Hills
Coyote Canyon Winery 2017 Life is Rosé Barbera, Horse Heaven Hills
Le Cadeau Vineyard 2015 Côte Est Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley
Canoe Ridge Vineyard 2014 Reserve Merlot, Horse Heaven Hills
Plaisance Ranch 2015 Cabernet Franc, Applegate Valley
Reininger Winery 2015 Syrah, Walla Walla Valley
William Marie Wines 2016 Syrah, Columbia Valley
Claar Cellars 2014 White Bluffs Merlot, Columbia Valley
Ste. Chapelle 2016 Open Air Chardonnay, Snake River Valley
Three of Cups 2015 Les Collines Vineyard L'Astre Syrah, Walla Walla Valley
Dusted Valley 2014 V.R. Special Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley
Ledger David Cellars 2015 Tempranillo, Rogue Valley
Convergence Zone Cellars 2013 Black Cloud Malbec, Red Mountain
Le Cadeau Vineyard 2015 Trajet Reserve Pinot Noir, Chehalem Mountains
Columbia Winery 2016 Chardonnay, Columbia Valley
Icon by Waterbrook 2015 Estate Red,
Walla Walla Valley
Ponzi Vineyards 2015 Classico Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley
Gård Vintners 2014 Lawrence Vineyards Malbec, Columbia Valley
Winter's Hill Estate 2017 Estate Rosé
of Pinot Noir, Dundee Hills
Belle Fiore Vineyards and Winery 2015 Reserve Pinot Noir, Rogue Valley
La Crema 2015 Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley
Elephant Seven Wine 2016 Yellow Bird Vineyard Grenache, Walla Walla Valley
Waterbrook Winery 2017 Sangiovese Rosé, Columbia Valley
Washington Hills Winery 2016 Riesling, Washington
Le Cadeau Vineyard 2016 Diversité Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley
Mercer Family Vineyards 2016 Merlot, Horse Heaven Hills
Waterbrook Winery 2016 Sauvignon Blanc, Columbia Valley

Read the reviews