Chateau Ste. Michelle
Pinkies out! I visited Chateau Ste. Michelle on multiple occasions as it is only 25 minutes northeast of Seattle. Its history dates back to the 1930s when the National Wine Company first began. This makes it the oldest winery in Washington.
History
In 1956, the "NAWICO" merged with the Pomerelle Wine Company to become the American Wine Company. Twenty years later, the company’s name was changed to a more French-sounding name, Chateau Ste. Michelle. This change occurred to give a bit more nobility to Washington wines to have the ability to compete with the wineries in California. At that time, a french-style chateau (aka mansion) was built on the property in Woodinville, Washington.
Throughout the years, more farmland was acquired. They now have multiple vineyards throughout the state of Washington which grow many different types of grapes. Inside the tasting room, we saw a wide variety of wines on their shelves.
Currently, there are several different wineries right next to each other in Woodinville, which makes for a great wine-hopping experience. Another reason to come visit the area is that Chateau has an outdoor amphitheater with popular music genres throughout the summer months.
Information
Feature Flight Tasting
My first time at the Chateau we participated in the Feature Flight Tasting. During this experience we sampled the wines of the month in the building next to the chateau, which happens to be where the gift shop is.
Grand Estate Tour
On another occasion, we experienced the Grand Estate Tour. Our guide showed us around the outside of the winery while explaining the history of the vineyard and the house on the property. Then we went into a conference room where she showed us how to sample wine and pair it with food. The wine we had on this tour was great.
It is important to know that only the wine club members can go into the chateau itself; we did not see it on any of these tours. But if the weather is nice, bring a blanket and sit on the lawn in front of the chateau for a grand view while drinking wine!