L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JANUARY 27, 2022 www.italoamericano.org 32 L'Italo-Americano SEATTLE ITALIAN COMMUNITY W h e n a w a r d - w i n n i n g v i n t n e r B o b Betz was young, he wanted to be a doctor. But when he graduated in 1970 from the University of Washington a n d a p p l i e d t o m e d i c a l school, he was wait-listed. It was a setback, of course, but Betz chose to regroup and re- a p p l y t h e f o l l o w i n g y e a r . What he did with his year off would change the course of his life. After he graduated from college, Betz got married and took his new bride to Europe. The couple bought a car in France and then hit the road for six months, concentrating on the wineries in Italy a n d F r a n c e . " W e b e g a n dipping deep into Tuscan w i n e , P i e d m o n t w i n e , B u r g u n d y , B o r d e a u x , t h e Loire, and a little bit into C h a m p a g n e , " B e t z t o l d HistoryLink recently. "All of a sudden, this wine thing had c a p t u r e d m y h e a r t , m y desires. And I realized that wine was part of my future." B e t z ' s i n t e r e s t i n w i n e came naturally. His mother, Mary Sarno, had family in Naples, and wine had always played an important part in family holidays and special d i n n e r s . W h e n B o b a n d Cathy Betz returned to the N o r t h w e s t a f t e r t h e i r European road trip, Betz had made a huge decision: he was not going to become a doc- tor; instead he would build a career around wine. And that's what he did. For five decades, Betz has f a s h i o n e d a n e n v i a b l e resume which began modest- ly with restaurant and retail experience, followed by 27 y e a r s a t C h a t e a u S t e . Michelle, Washington's old- est and one of the country's m o s t r e s p e c t e d w i n e r i e s . Along the way, he earned a much-coveted degree from London's Institute of Masters of Wine. As if that were not enough, after retiring from C h a t e a u S t e . M i c h e l l e i n 2003, he opened his own s m a l l f a m i l y w i n e r y i n Woodinville which he called Betz Family Winery. After the initial six-month trip to Europe, Betz came back to the Northwest and worked in a restaurant. In 1973, he returned to Europe for six more months. During that trip, he volunteered to harvest grapes, toured tast- ing rooms large and small, and talked to experts whose families had been in the wine business for centuries. He p i c k e d g r a p e s i n A l s a c e , attended wine auctions in Burgundy, and visited most o f t h e m a j o r w i n e r i e s i n Bordeaux. Back in the Northwest, B e t z s p e n t s e v e r a l y e a r s m a n a g i n g O l d S p a g h e t t i F a c t o r y r e s t a u r a n t s i n Portland and Tacoma, and then took a sales position at La Cantina Wine Merchants in Seattle. He was so good at his retail job and his cus- tomers were so impressed with his advice and expertise that he soon caught the eye of Ste. Michelle Vintners, a nearby winery planning a m a j o r e x p a n s i o n . T h e y offered him a job as director of public relations communi- cations. Not surprisingly, he said yes. Thus began a 27-year stint at Chateau Ste. Michelle. As the company planned its new winery in Woodinville, the owners decided to recreate a French chateau set on 87 acres. The governor showed up for the 1975 groundbreak- ing and a grand gala opening was scheduled for the follow- ing year. The idea was to make the winery a tourist attraction, with the owners gambling that people would want to visit a winery, not just drink the wine. Betz was hired to help plan visitor tours of the new facility. After its first year, Ste. Michelle e s t i m a t e d s o m e 2 0 0 , 0 0 0 people visited the property. The wine evolved, as well. St. Michelle started out with w h i t e v a r i e t a l s a n d t h e n moved into red wines, win- n i n g a w a r d s a n d g e t t i n g national media attention. Betz continued to hone his wine knowledge, as he tack- led several different key posi- tions at Ste. Michelle – from sales, marketing and quality assurance to vice president of winemaking research. In the 1990s, he was part of the Ste. Michelle team that launched two new collaborative labels: Eroica, which brought in a German partner, and Col Solare, a joint venture with famous Tuscan winemaker Marchese Piero Antinori. Antinori, whose family has been making wine in Italy since the 1300s, first visited W a s h i n g t o n ' s C o l u m b i a Valley in 1992 to see first- hand what was going on with the state's wine industry. D u r i n g h i s t i m e i n t h e N o r t h w e s t , h e b e c a m e intrigued with the idea of merging two distinct grape- g r o w i n g a n d w i n e m a k i n g cultures. As Washington's premiere winery, Chateau Ste. Michelle seemed the per- fect partner. The team introduced Col Solare, Italian for "shining hill," in 1995. Located on Red M o u n t a i n h i g h a b o v e t h e Y a k i m a R i v e r , C o l S o l a r e winery occupies 40 acres with commanding views of its fan-shaped vineyards. "Because of my Italian her- itage and my linguistic ability in Italian, this project really c a p t u r e d m y h e a r t , " s a i d Betz. "If I could make red wine anywhere other than Washington, it would be in Tuscany." In the late 1990s, follow- ing his life-long dream, Betz and his wife decided to make their own wine. For six years, t h e y w o r k e d n i g h t s a n d weekends perfecting their art while Bob worked full-time at Chateau Ste. Michelle. In 2003, he retired to focus on B e t z F a m i l y W i n e r y . T h e f a m i l y w i n e r y o p e n e d i n 2005 and was a huge success. In 2007, Betz was named American Winemaker of the Year by Sunset magazine. The following year, his caber- net sauvignon was named Washington's No. 1 wine by The Seattle Times wine critic. After four years, Bob and C a t h y B e t z w e r e r e a d y t o retire and sold the business t o a c o u p l e f r o m S o u t h Africa. Bob Betz retains the title of consulting winemak- er, and his wines continue to r a c k u p a c c o l a d e s t o d a y . Overall, not a bad resume for a guy who thought he was putting his medical training on hold for a year! Chateau Ste. Michelle is the Northwest's oldest and most prestigious winery (Chateau Ste. Michelle) How a six-month trip to Europe inspired a 50-year career devoted to wine RITA CIPALLA

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