Quilceda Creek Winery is a boutique winery in

Snohomish, Washington Snohomish is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. The population was 9,098 at the 2010 census. It is located on the Snohomish River, southeast of Everett and northwest of Monroe. Snohomish lies at the intersection of U.S. Rou ...

specializing in premium

Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebanon' ...

wine. The winery is named for a nearby creek in Snohomish County. Although the winery facility is located west of the

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...

, the winery sources all of its grapes from its four estate vineyards in the

Horse Heaven Hills AVA The Horse Heaven Hills AVA is an American Viticultural Area in southeastern Washington, and is part of the larger Columbia Valley AVA. The Horse Heaven Hills AVA borders the Yakima Valley AVA on the north and the Columbia River on the south ...

and

Red Mountain AVA The Red Mountain AVA is an American Viticultural Area that includes the land surrounding Red Mountain in Benton County, Washington. It is part of the Yakima Valley AVA, which in turn is part of the larger Columbia Valley AVA. Located betwe ...

. Quilceda Creek Winery has earned some of the highest reviews and awards of any winery in the United States and was the first American wine from outside of California to earn a perfect 100-point score from wine critic Robert Parker's publication ''

The Wine Advocate ''The Wine Advocate'', fully known as ''Robert Parker's Wine Advocate'' and informally abbreviated ''TWA'' or ''WA ''or more recently as ''RP'', is a bimonthly wine publication based in the United States featuring the consumer advice of wine criti ...

''. Since its founding in 1978, Quilceda Creek has received an additional seven 100-point scores from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, one 100-point score from Decanter (Magazine) and two 100-point scores from acclaimed wine blog OwenBargreen.com. In addition to critics' praise, one of the highest honors for Quilceda Creek happened when President Barack Obama chose to serve their 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley at a White House dinner to President

Hu Jintao Hu Jintao (born 21 December 1942) is a Chinese politician who served as the 16–17th general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 2002 to 2012, the 6th president of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from 2003 to 2013, an ...

of China in 2011.

History

Quilceda Creek Winery was founded in 1978 by Alex and Jeanette Golitzin. Alex Golitzin is a nephew of

André Tchelistcheff André Tchelistcheff (Russian: Андрей Викторович Челищев; December 7, 1901 – April 5, 1994) was America's most influential post-Prohibition winemaker. Tchelistcheff is most notable for his contributions toward defining ...

, one of the most influential winemakers of Napa Valley, and credits summer trips to visit his uncle in St. Helena, California with developing his early interest in wine. Tchelistcheff began consulting with Washington's largest winery,

Chateau Ste. Michelle Chateau Ste. Michelle is Washington State's oldest winery, located in Woodinville, Washington, near Seattle. It produces Chardonnay, Cabernet, Merlot, and Riesling, and has winemaking partnerships with two vintners: Col Solare is an alliance with ...

, in the 1960s, when the Golitzin family also moved to western Washington. With encouragement and advice from his uncle, Alex Golitzin began making one barrel of

a year as an amateur winemaker from 1974 through 1977. Encouraged by Tchelistcheff's assessment of the results, the family opened the commercial winery in Snohomish in 1978 and produced their first vintage of Cabernet Sauvignon in 1979. The first vintage produced . In 1993, Alex Golitzin's son, Paul, took over responsibilities as Director of Winemaking. By 2000, the winery was producing annually,Clarke, Stan, ''Practical Winery & Vineyard'' (July/August 2000). "Consistency of Quilceda Creek Cabernet" and today produces 12,000 cases a year. Quilceda Creek Winery Cabernet Sauvignon has earned some of the highest reviews and awards of any wine produced in the United States. The 1999 vintage was named "Best Cabernet Sauvignon over $20" in a tasting of American wines by ''

Food & Wine ''Food & Wine'' is an American monthly magazine published by Dotdash Meredith. It was founded in 1978 by Ariane and Michael Batterberry. It features recipes, cooking tips, travel information, restaurant reviews, chefs, wine pairings and season ...

'' in its October 2003 issue.''Food & Wine'' (October 2003). The 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2013 and 2014 vintages all scored 100-point ratings from Robert Parker's ''The Wine Advocate''.Parker, Tom (2002). ''Discovering Washington Wines''. Raconteurs Press. pp. 85. Robert Parker's Wine Advocate also named Quilceda Creek “Best Washington State Winery” in 2017. Additionally, Quilceda Creek has received three top 10 wines of the year in

Wine Spectator ''Wine Spectator'' is an American lifestyle magazine that focuses on wine and wine culture, and gives out ratings to certain types of wine. It publishes 15 issues per year with content that includes news, articles, profiles, and general entertain ...

. It was named one of the Top 100 Wineries of 2020 by Wine & Spirits and a Top 100 Cellar Selection of 2020 by

Wine Enthusiast ''Wine Enthusiast'' magazine is an American wine magazine published by Wine Enthusiast Companies in Valhalla, New York. Founded in 1979 by Adam and Sybil Strum, Wine Enthusiast Companies engages in the wine accessories, storage, information, educat ...

Production

Quilceda Creek wine in glass plus two other Columbia Valley AVA wine

The current winery facility at Quilceda Creek was built in 2003 and opened on January 1, 2004.Quilceda Creek Vintners (2008)
"Corporate Biography"
Retrieved April 3, 2008. Located on in the town of Snohomish, the winery has of space for

fermentation Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food ...

and barrel aging. The small winery facility is open to the public by appointment only. The wines produced by Quilceda Creek Vintners are sourced from their four estate vineyards: Mach One Vineyard, Champoux Vineyard and Palengat Vineyard in the Horse Heaven Hills AVA and Galitzine Vineyard in the Red Mountain AVA. The grapes are harvested by hand, and transported overnight by truck to the winery. Quilceda Creek produces just four wines, including its flagship bottling, the Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, made of 100% Cabernet Sauvignon with fruit from Champoux, Mach One and Palengat Vineyards; the Galitzine Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Quilceda Creek's only single-vineyard bottling made with Cabernet Sauvignon from the Red Mountain AVA; the Palengat Proprietary Red Wine, made up of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon from the Champoux and Mach One vineyards and 10% Cabernet Franc from the Palengat Vineyard; and the Columbia Valley Red or “CVR,” a declassified blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. The Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and Columbia Valley Red (CVR) are distributed nationally, and internationally to Asia and the United Kingdom. The Palengat and Galitzine bottles are offered only to their private mailing list but may sometimes be found in the secondary market.

References

External links

Quilceda Creek official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Quilceda_Creek_Winery Wineries in Washington (state) American companies established in 1978 Food and drink companies established in 1978