12 CapitalPress.com
September 9, 2016
Winemaker brings his wine to the people
By HEATHER SMITH THOMAS
For the Capital Press
Charles Smith Wines bills
itself as the largest winemak-
er-owned winery in Washing-
ton state and overall the third
largest winery in the state.
The brand has grown tre-
mendously since its small be-
ginnings, founded by Charles
Smith, a former rock band
tour manager.
Smith was born in the U.S.
and grew up near Sacramento,
Calif., in the foothills of the
Sierra Nevada. His mother
was Welsh and his father was
French, so Smith had an inter-
est in traveling the world at a
young age. He moved to Den-
mark and spent the next nine
years managing rock bands,
including the famed Danish
duo, the Ravonettes, and con-
cert tours throughout Europe.
Wining and dining on the
road with his bands spurred a
Courtesy of Charles Smith Wines
Charles Smith, owner of Charles Smith WInes in Walla Walla,
Wash, says his winery is the largest winemaker-owned operation in
Washington and overall the third largest winery in the state.
passion for good wine.
“In 1999, I moved back to
the U.S. and opened a wine
shop on Bainbridge Island,
just across Puget Sound
from downtown Seattle,”
he said. “Later that year I
went on a road trip to Walla
Walla, where I met a young
Frenchman and winemaker
who shared my same pas-
sion for great Syrah. I decid-
Courtesy of Charles Smith Wines
A storefront view of the Charles Smith Wines Jet City location in Seattle.
ed to move to Walla Walla
and make my own juice.”
He named his irst cre-
ation K Syrah. This 1999 re-
lease from Walla Walla Valley
initiated the style of classic
winemaking that Smith con-
tinues today: small lot, sin-
gle-vineyard wines, all hand-
picked grapes, foot-stomped,
fermented with naturally
occurring yeasts and basket
pressed.
What started as selling
wine out of the back of his
Astro van has grown to be-
come the largest independent
winery in the state.
In 2006, he launched
Charles Smith Wines, to build
on his philosophy of “wine
for everyone every day.” His
intent is to create wines to be
enjoyed now, but with classic
variety — Merlot that tastes
like Merlot — and true to the
place of origin. The wines are
Charles Smith
Wines
Founded: 2001
Owner: Charles Smith
Location: Walla Walla, Wash.
full of lavor and balanced.
His Kung Fu Girl Riesling is
one of the top-selling Ries-
lings in the country.
Charles Smith Wines has
now grown to include K Vint-
ners, Charles Smith Wines,
ViNO, Secco Italian Bubbles,
SIXTO, Wines of Substance,
Casa Smith and one-half of
Charles & Charles, with more
in the works. Each eye-catch-
ing label brings something
unique to the table. The brand
now sells more than 750,000
cases a year.
Pricing from $12 to $120 a
bottle enables them to be sold
in many different markets and
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to a wide audience.
“I make wine for every-
one,” Smith says. “I want
everyone to be able to enjoy
a good glass of wine, and a
good glass of wine doesn’t
have to mean expensive wine,
it means good wine.”
Charles Smith Wines is
headquartered in Walla Wal-
la, where the vineyards and
a tasting room are. In 2015,
he opened a tasting room in
Seattle called Charles Smith
Wines Jet City — the larg-
est urban winery on the West
Coast.
“I wanted to bring my
wine to the people,” he says.
The 32,000-square-foot, one-
of-a-kind winery and two-sto-
ry tasting room was formerly
a Dr. Pepper bottling plant.
Located in the Georgetown
section of Seattle that has a
rich history of manufacturing,
the winery is contributing to
this growing community and
celebrating its irst-year anni-
versary this August.
“We sell a lot of wine be-
cause we make delicious, ac-
cessible wine — from Kung
Fu Girl, available across the
country and ready to drink the
moment you open it, to our K
wines,” Smith says.
He believes being consid-
ered one of the top producers
from Washington is an honor,
and a responsibility to uphold.