WOODINVILLE, Wash. — Woodinville’s Chateau Ste. Michelle winery — the largest winery in the Pacific Northwest — is putting its Woodinville property up for sale.
According to the Washington Wine Report, Chateau Ste. Michelle’s 118 acres in Woodinville was listed earlier this month by a real estate company based in Dallas.
The price has not been disclosed.
“The property listing includes Ste. Michelle’s chateau, tasting rooms, a banquet facility, office space, a theatre, a 100,000+ square foot warehouse, and 50,000 square feet of barrel storage,” the Washington Wine Report said.
The winery will move all of its white wine production to its Canoe Ridge facility in eastern Washington. Cara Connor, the community relations manager for Chateau Ste. Michelle, says the change in winemaking operations prompted the company to explore the potential sale of the Woodinville property, or perhaps just a portion of it.
“We are evaluating how to best utilize the facility going forward,” said Connor. “This process is still in the exploratory phase and could take years to implement, if at all.”
Woodinville Mayor Mike Millman does not anticipate losing the venue in its current form. However, he tells KIRO 7 it could end up looking different.
“I know that Chateau Ste. Michelle is actually hoping to maintain a presence in Woodinville,” said Millman. “I’m going to work very hard to make sure that happens.”
According to the mayor, 70 acres of the property are zoned for residential use. The other 48 could be used for industrial or tourism purposes such as wineries, breweries or hotels.
Adam Acampora serves as executive director of Woodinville Wine Country, a non-profit business that promotes the area as a wine tourism destination. Acampora argues there is no need for wine lovers to panic just yet.
“Honestly, I don’t even know what their plan is,” said Acampora. “They could be speculating on what the land value is; they could be looking at repositioning cash flow. Who knows?”