“Chateau Ste. Michelle welcomed freezing temperatures on October 31st in Eastern Washington by harvesting ice wine for only the fifth time in the winery's 40-year history. (Ironically, the winery has picked ice wine grapes on October 31st for three out of five years.) We even made two ice wines - one grom Riesling grapes and this ice wine from Chenin Blanc grapes. The Chenin Blanc Ice Wine was a happy afterthought. After picking the Riesling Ice Wine, our vineyard manager said that we still had Chenin grapes on the south end of the vineyard- an area that doesn't typically get as cold because it is closer to the Columbia River. Fortunately, the grapes were hanging in a low, cold spot and were frozen solid. The result is our first ice wine made from Chenin Blanc grapes. The wine is intensely rich and exudes ultra ripe melon aromas and flavors with a clean acidity.”
-Bob Bertheau, Head Winemaker

Current Vintage Fact Sheet, Acclaim, and Past Vintages
Find Our Washington Wines

• 90 pts. Wine Enthusiast (2006 Vintage)
• 90 pts. Wine Spectator (2006 Vintage)

• All the necessary conditions for ice wine came together during the 2006 harvest- low temperatures below 14º F and ripe, healthy fruit still hanging on the vine.
• Eastern Washington's climate, with its potential temperature extremes, is a perfect canidate to produce great ice wine in appropriate years.
• Chenin Blanc grapes were harvested from our Horse Heaven Vineyard, located in the Horse Heaven Hills adjacent to the Columbia River in Eastern Washington.