Chateau Ste. Michelle’s Canoe Ridge Estate Winery Earns LIVE Sustainability Certification
Woodinville, Wash.
Chateau Ste. Michelle’s Canoe Ridge Estate red winery in Eastern Washington recently earned rigorous third party LIVE sustainability certification. The winery’s vineyard at Canoe Ridge Estate is also LIVE and Salmon Safe certified, making it the first winery in the Horse Heaven Hills AVA to receive both the estate vineyard and winery certifications.
LIVE is a third party certification of environmentally and socially responsible winegrowing in the Northwest. LIVE refers to the practice of reducing the amount of raw material (inputs such as pesticides, fertilizers, water and fuel, etc.) used in vineyard and winery production. It gives winegrowers the option to examine their impacts from vine to bottle through vineyard and winery standards.
“Our sustainability practices are important because the environmental impact of our business extends beyond our wineries and vineyards,” said Chateau Ste. Michelle red winemaker Raymon McKee. “We take great care in making responsible decisions that promote the long-term wellness of the communities where we live and work. These include reducing our use of energy, water and waste, and a commitment to worker safety.”
In the vineyard, Chateau Ste. Michelle’s sustainability practices include reducing soil erosion by planting beneficial cover crops and applying natural methods to control weeds and pests (such as biodegradable oils, soaps and plant extracts). The winery also built nesting boxes in the vineyard for American Kestrels, allowing these small falcons to help control insects & rodents.
“The wines from our Canoe Ridge Estate and Cold Creek vineyards are the ultimate sense of place and show the pure terroir of the vineyard, in large part because of our gentle sustainable vineyard and cellar practices, “ adds McKee. “We work hard to be responsible shepherds of these pristine vineyard lands so they will thrive and produce world-class wines for decades to come.”
A Leader in Sustainability and Innovation
To continually improve wine quality, Chateau Ste. Michelle also built a new Reserve Cellar at its Canoe Ridge Estate winery featuring state-of-the art sorting and fermentation equipment. The new Reserve Cellar began production in early September in time for the 2014 Washington harvest. The cutting-edge technology is designed to gently handle fruit and minimize impurities for the winery’s Single Vineyard and Ethos Reserve wines. “The new receiving equipment gently destems and sorts our top grapes to remove any green material, allowing us to make wines that are more pure expressions of our estate vineyards,” explains Mckee.
Chateau Ste. Michelle is one of the few premium wineries in the world with two state-of-the-art winemaking facilities, one devoted to whites at its Woodinville Chateau outside of Seattle and another customized to red wine production at its Canoe Ridge Estate winery in Eastern Washington. The Canoe Ridge Estate winery and vineyard is located on a south-facing, wind-swept slope on the north bank of the Columbia River in the Horse Heaven Hills AVA. Planted in 1991, the Canoe Ridge Estate vineyard includes 559 acres of Merlot, Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Syrah and Grenache.
For more information on LIVE, visit liveinc.org.
About Chateau Ste. Michelle
Founded in 1934, Chateau Ste. Michelle pioneered vinifera grape growing in Washington state and has been producing classic European varietal wines under the Ste. Michelle label since 1967. The winery combines an ongoing dedication to research with a commitment to classic winemaking traditions. The winery owns 3,500 acres of vineyards in the Columbia Valley of eastern Washington, including Canoe Ridge Estate and Cold Creek, which are LIVE and Salmon Safe certified. Chateau Ste. Michelle enjoys winemaking partnerships with two of the world’s most distinguished vintners. Col Solare is an alliance with Tuscany’s Piero Antinori and Eroica Riesling is a partnership with the Mosel’s Ernst Loosen.
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For further information:
Lynda Eller
media@ste-michelle.com
