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Ste. Michelle Wine Estates

US wine multinational in Washington State with headquarters in Woodinville (King County) iom the style of a French château. It has extensive winery and vineyard holdings in the three US states of California, Oregon and Washington. The company's origins date back to 1934, after Prohibition, when the predecessor of today's "Château Ste. Michelle" was founded under the name "National Wine Company". In 1954, the company merged with the Pomerelle Wine Company and was renamed "American Wine Growers". Mainly fortified sweet wines were produced. From 1967, the famous oenologist André Tchelistcheff (1901-1994) worked as a consultant. He introduced European varieties and created the premium wine line "Ste. Michelle", which then gave the winery and company its later name.

The company, renamed "Ste Michelle Vintners" in 1970, was sold to a group of investors three years later and taken over by UST (U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company) in 1974. This in turn was taken over by the giant US tobacco multinational "Altria Group", formerly "Philip Morris Companies" (with leading brand "Marlboro") at the beginning of 2009. An amphitheatre is located on the site, where open-air concerts with well-known artists such as Gypsy Kings, Tony Bennett or BB King are held. In 2004, the company was renamed "Ste. Michelle Wine Estates" (SMWE) to give clear expression to its historical background and corporate philosophy. Finally, it was sold in 2021 for $ 1.2 billion to the investment company Sycamore Partners.

Château Ste Michelle - Gebäude

The "Château Ste. Michelle" is the largest and oldest winery in Washington and also represents the flagship of the "Ste. Michelle Wine Estates" company. The vineyards in Washington cover a total of 1,400 hectares. Of these, the Canoe Ridge and Cold Creek vineyards in the Columbia Valley account for around 500 hectares. There, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Gewurztraminer, Malbec, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Pinot Noir, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon, Syrah, Touriga and Viognier are mainly made into varietal wines. The wide range of wines is marketed in the Tiers, Vineyards and Varietals groups. Late Harvest and Icewines are also produced. The new Columbia Crest winery near Paterson on the Columbia River was opened in 1983.

All the vineyards and wineries were then brought together under the umbrella company "Stimson Lane Vineyards and Estates" in 1984. Subsequently, several wineries in California's Napa Valley were taken over and the product portfolio was expanded to its current size. These include the vineyards and wineries or wine brands 14 Hands, Col Solare (2005), Columbia Crest (1983), Château Ste. Michelle for wines, Domaine Ste. Michelle for sparkling wines (1996), Red Diamond (2005), Snoqualmie (2002), Northstar (2002) and Spring Valley (2005) in Washington, Erath (2006) in Oregon, as well as Big Ranch Vineyard, Conn Creek (1986), Hawk Crest, Herrick Vineyard, Stag's Leap Wine Cellars (2007) and Villa Mt. Eden (1986) in Napa Valley in California. There are also several partnerships with wine companies and wineries.

In 1995, a partnership was entered into with the Italian winegrowing legend Marchese Piero Antinori and the red wine cuvée "Col Solare" (Engl. "Shining Mountain") was created. Since 2005, the wine has been produced on its own vineyard of the same name. The varieties Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc and Syrah are grown on 30 hectares of vineyards in the Heaven Hills vineyard. Exclusive distribution rights in the USA exist for the products of the Antinori wineries Antica Napa Valley (California), Haras (Chile), La Braccesca (Tuscany), Montenisa (Lombardy), Santa Cristina (Tuscany) and Tormaresca (Puglia). In 1999, in a joint venture with the well-known German winemaker Ernst Loosen of the Mosel winery Dr. Loosen, the Riesling "Eroica" was created, which is one of the highest awarded Rieslings in the USA. See a list of other wine multinationals under the keyword biggest wine companies in the world.

Image: By FloweringHearth at English Wikipedia, CC BY 2.5, Link

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