Alex Golitzin (b. 1939) and son Paul Golitzin (b. 1970) have been central figures in bringing national and international recognition to Washington wines. They are owners and operators of Quilceda Cree...
Allen Shoup (1943-2022) was a Washington wine industry pioneer who helped create a national market for Washington wines, and for Chateau Ste. Michelle wines in particular. Shoup was a top business exe...
Bob Betz (b. 1948) grew up in Seattle's Wallingford neighborhood with designs on becoming a doctor. When that didn't work out, he transitioned quickly to find his calling in the wine industry. He and ...
Doug Gore (b. 1952) helped to lay the groundwork for establishing Washington red wines not only in the nation but on a global scale. He began as the assistant winemaker at Chateau Ste. Michelle in 198...
Gary Figgins (b. 1948) was the founder and winemaker of Leonetti Cellar, the first winery in Walla Walla and widely considered one of its best. Figgins gained instant fame in 1982 when his 1978 Leonet...
Jerry Bookwalter (1940-2023) was a pioneer wine grower and winemaker from Richland who began his wine career in 1976 as the general manager of Sagemoor Farms on the Columbia River just north of the Tr...
California native Jim Holmes (b. 1936) moved to the Pacific Northwest in 1959 to work as a scientist at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Eastern Washington. In 1972, he and fellow engineer John Will...
Three generations of the Williams family have presided over the growth of Kiona Vineyards into one of Washington's leading growers and wineries. The venture began with an investment by John Williams (...
Joy Andersen (b. 1957) was born in Pocatello, Idaho, where she lived for 15 years before the family moved to Snohomish. After graduating from Snohomish High School, Joy attended the University of Wash...
Kay Simon (b. 1953) and Clay Mackey (b. 1949) grew up on farms in California and studied at the University of California at Davis, but it wasn't until both were employed by Chateau Ste. Michelle in Wa...
After a long career in the tree-fruit business, Kent Waliser (b. 1952) has spent more than two decades contributing his knowledge to the Washington wine industry. Starting out in 2002 as the...
Since 1989, Martin "Marty" Clubb has been the co-owner and managing winemaker of the L’Ecole No 41 winery in Lowden, just west of Walla Walla. He and his wife Megan took over the operation ...