Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, Washington’s largest wine company, has been acquired by the Wyckoff family, Yakima Valley grape growers and owners of Coventry Vale Winery. 

According to a news release published Dec. 8, the Wyckoffs acquired all of Ste. Michelle’s Washington vineyards, facilities and brands from private equity firm Sycamore Partners, which acquired the wine company in 2021 for $1.2 billion. 

No purchase details about the Wyckoff acquisition were included in the release, but the announcement celebrated the return to ownership by a private, Washington-based company. Wyckoff Farms was founded in 1950 and now operates vineyards in the Wahluke Slope, Yakima Valley and Horse Heaven Hills American Viticultural Areas, along with producing juice grapes, hops and blueberries.

“Ste. Michelle has been the long-term driving force behind Washington’s wine industry,” Court Wyckoff, CEO of Wyckoff Farms Inc. and Coventry Vale Winery, said in the release. “As partners since the early 1980s, we deeply believe in Ste. Michelle Wine Estates’ outstanding portfolio of iconic Northwest wine brands.” 

The Washington brands include Chateau Ste. Michelle, 14 Hands, Columbia Crest, Liquid Light and Ethos. 

At one point, Ste. Michelle crushed roughly 60 percent of Washington’s wine grapes and operated wine brands across the West Coast. But over the past several years, Ste Michelle has sold its stake in several vineyards and facilities, including Col Solare on Red Mountain in Washington and Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars in California’s Napa Valley. The company also streamlined its facilities in Eastern Washington as it significantly cut back production in response to global decline in demand.

Co-CEO Anna Mosier said the acquisition puts the company in a better position to partner with its Washington growers.

“Like them, we will now be a family-owned endeavor focused on making the right long-term decisions for Ste. Michelle and for the Washington wine and grape-growing industry,” she said in the release.  •