The 2008 Auction Chairs
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Tod Leiweke, |
Honorary Chairs
Industry leaders honored
Since 1999, the Auction has honored industry leaders for their contributions to the Washington wine industry. Selected by their peers and confirmed by the Washington Wine Commission, the Honorary Vintner Chair represents the state's more than 500 wineries and the Honorary Grower Chair represents the state's more than 350 wine grape growers and 30,000 vineyard acres.
Honorary Vintner Chair
Kay Simon, Winemaker & Partner in Chinook Wines Of Prosser, Washington
Kay Simon is partner and winemaker in Chinook Wines, located in the Yakima Valley of Washington State. Chinook makes small quantities of high quality wines each year and hand sells them to top restaurants and fine wine merchants in the Pacific Northwest and a few select markets elsewhere.
An early interest in foods led Kay to do volunteer work with a county nutritionist (Marin County, CA) and then to enroll at University of California at Davis, where she began to study nutrition. A one-year study in Germany developed her interest in beer and other fermented foods. Upon her return to California, Kay continued studies in Fermentation Science and received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1976.
Kay's grandparents in the Pacific Northwest had already engendered a love of Washington and Oregon outdoor opportunities, and a job offer from Chateau Ste. Michelle brought Kay to Washington in 1977. Further development of her winemaking career was in the Yakima Valley of Washington State, where Kay met and married her husband and business partner, Clay Mackey. They began Chinook Wines in 1983 and continue to operate their small winery in Prosser, Washington.
Honorary Grower Chair
Jim Holmes, Ciel du Cheval
Jim has been growing grapes since 1975 when he and John Williams first planted Ciel du Cheval and Kiona vineyards on Red Mountain. He made the first Kiona wines in his garage in 1980 and remained the principal winemaker at Kiona until about 1990. In 1994, Jim retired from the Kiona Partnership, became the owner of the Ciel du Cheval, and essentially rebuilt the Ciel operation using newly available clones, trellising techniques, and cultural methods. As a result, Ciel has become one of the State's top vineyards. The vineyard was designated as Seattle Magazine's 2006 vineyard of the year. Mr. Holmes has been listed as one of the worlds 50 most influential winemakers by Wine and Spirits Magazine, designated as one of a number of "wine personalities of the year" by the Wine Advocate, was Washington Association of Wine Grape Growers (WAWGG) grower of the year in 2005, and was named a Clore Center wine legend in 2007. Jim is currently serving as Vice Chairman of the Washington Association of Wine Grape Growers.
Jim and his wife Patricia reside in West Richland. They have three children living in the Puget Sound area and three grandchildren.
