2009 WA Wine Awards: People of Washington Wine

Winemaker to Watch
Brennon Leighton, Efeste Wines
At 40, his skin covered with tattoos, Brennon Leighton of Efeste Wines looks more like an edgy artist than a winemaker. He discovered his passion for wine while working in fine dining restaurants, tasting and learning about the wines he was serving. At 26, he went back to school to study viticulture and enology at the University of California at Davis. Since then, he’s made a name for himself as a winemaker at Chateau Ste. Michelle, where he was instrumental in creating the award-winning Eroica Riesling, among other white wines. At Efeste, he focuses on big, lush reds as well. Leighton is fascinated with wild yeasts, or “feral” yeasts as he calls them: Rather than adding commercial yeast to begin the fermentation process of most of his wines, he lets the yeasts that already exist in the air inoculate the wine by settling on the open vats of juice. Leighton has created two versions of Efeste Sauvignon Blanc—one made with commercial yeast, and the other with feral yeast. Both have received acclaim for their bright, fresh acidity and delicious citrus and tropical flavors. This willingness to experiment and think outside the barrel makes Leighton one to watch.
Woodinville, 19730 144th Ave. NE; 425.398.7200; efeste.com

Winemaker of the Year
Chris Upchurch, DeLille Cellars
As a young wine enthusiast, Chris Upchurch visited vineyards and wineries throughout France and the rest of Europe, and the West Coast to develop his palate. The winemaker at DeLille Cellars since 1992 (a partnership between Upchurch, Greg Lill, Pat Lill and Jay Soloff), one of his goals is to make wines in which the final product is greater than the sum of its parts. His wines, which have won several awards, have also received accolades from the likes of Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar newsletter for wine lovers, Wine Spectator, Wine Enthusiast and many other publications. The common thread from all these raves is the same characteristic we love about his wines—balance and elegance. Woodinville; 425.489.0544; Delillecellars.com


Sommelier of the Year
Dawn Smith, Purple, Barrio and Bliss
Dawn Smith, former wine director at Bin vivant, is bringing her talents to the soon-to-open Bellevue Purple Café and Wine Bar and Barrio restaurants where she will serve as sommelier/wine director. She, like many of Seattle’s excellent young sommeliers, earned her chops at Canlis, where she worked her way up to assistant wine director. She holds a sommelier diploma from the International Sommelier Guild and an advanced certificate from the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET). Smith says her focus is on being “an ambassador for wine.” She helps customers choose wines they’ll love by listening to their preferences while also drawing on her instincts about wine.

Community Service Award
Stacy Lill and Kathy Johanson, O Wines
Kathy Johanson (below, right), by day a manager at Boeing, and Stacy Lill (below, left), whose husband, Greg, co-owns DeLille Winery, have been involved with local wine auctions and benefits for years. But they wanted to find a way to address the problem of education and social development of local young girls. So in 2006, they combined their love of wine with this goal, forming O (for “opportunity”) Wines and donating a portion of its profits to organizations that provide scholarships for at-risk teenage girls in the Northwest. The 2008 O Chardonnay is their second release, a deliciously crisp, lightly oaked wine that is great with summer foods. Their efforts have already created an Opportunity for Success scholarship for the College Success Foundation, and they have partnered with women’s boutiques such as Polite Society and Road Apparel for benefit tastings; sales are going strong. You go, girls! Woodinville; 425.827.3635; owines.com


Produced by Anne Nisbet, Shannon Borg and Andrea Delimont