Ste. Michelle Wine Estates Introduces ETHOS, A Celebration of the Unparalleled Quality of Washington State Cabernet Sauvignon

WOODINVILLE, Wash.

The inaugural 2022 ETHOS Cabernet Sauvignon honors the pioneers who established Cabernet Sauvignon in the Columbia Valley

Ste. Michelle Wine Estates is proud to announce the launch of ETHOS, which is dedicated to crafting expressive, high quality and elegantly structured Cabernet Sauvignon from Washington’s Columbia Valley. The inaugural release, the 2022 ETHOS Cabernet Sauvignon, captures the synergy between place and practice to create a singular expression of Cabernet Sauvignon from the Columbia Valley, a region renowned for producing world-class wines.

ETHOS pays homage to Washington’s early wine pioneers who helped establish the rugged and demanding Columbia Valley into a top growing region known for its Cabernet Sauvignon. The new winery honors the work of those visionaries while seeking to elevate the grape's potential to new heights. The origins of the name ETHOS come from Aristotle’s treatises on rhetoric, and has a dual meaning grounded in both ethics and the quality of a person’s character. The winemaking and vineyard teams are obsessed with quality, employing sustainable grape growing and winemaking practices to demonstrate the distinctive character of Cabernet Sauvignon from the Columbia Valley.

“We are excited to build on our 60-year legacy of producing high quality Cabernet Sauvignon in Washington State. The terroir of the Columbia Valley, with its long, warm days and cool nights, produces some of the finest Cabernets in the world,” says Perris Fiori, Vice President of Marketing at Ste. Michelle Wine Estates. “ETHOS not only embodies this unique terroir but also seeks to establish a new standard for Cabernet Sauvignon.”

Crafted with a careful eye to detail, ETHOS is blended from grapes grown at Ste Michelle’s estate’s vineyards and from grower partners across the Columbia Valley’s most notable AVAs. Winemaker Tristan Butterfield employs small lot fermentations and tailors the winemaking to highlight the attributes of each vineyard. He manages tannin development and depth to produce an elegant structure and plush tannins in the wine.

Butterfield brings an exacting approach to the blending process that is rooted in his scientific background and years of winemaking experience. After receiving a degree in physics from The University of Notre Dame, he moved to Washington State where he began exploring the thriving wine scene. He worked in the cellars and vineyards of some of Washington’s leading wineries including Kiona Vineyards in the Red Mountain AVA, prior to joining the Ste. Michelle Wine Estates team in 2018.

“With ETHOS, we are exploring the limits of craftsmanship and Cabernet Sauvignon from Columbia Valley’s top appellations and vineyards. Working with multi-generational family farmers and our own estate vineyards, we tailor our winemaking approach to detail the character of each lot to create the style that we are looking for in the wines,” says Butterfield. “It’s the chance to take our heritage and winemaking expertise to the next level, producing a new generation of Cabernet for people to enjoy.”

The 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon was sourced from top sites in the acclaimed Red Mountain, Horse Heaven Hills, and Wahluke Slope appellations, as well as the iconic 40-year-old Cold Creek Vineyard. It was aged in a variety of new and neutral French and American oak barrels for 22 months, producing a full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon with rich fruit flavors and plush, integrated tannins.

The first release of ETHOS, available beginning September 2025, will be featured in top restaurants across the country. It will be available by the glass and by the bottle. For more information, please visit ethoswine.com.

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About ETHOS ethoswine.com
At ETHOS we are fearless, obsessive, and intentional. We are standing on the shoulders of pioneers to establish a new standard for world-class Cabernet Sauvignon in the rugged terrain of the Columbia Valley. Crafted at our winery by winemaker Tristan Butterfield, this first on-premise focused wine was sourced from Wahluke Slope, Red Mountain, Horse Heaven Hills, and the legendary Cold Creek Vineyard. The synergy of place and practice is what makes ETHOS Cabernet Sauvignon a singular expression of the Columbia Valley–a place where rugged, unbridled potential and artisanal winemaking align.

ETHOS is a revelation with the density and structure of a wine more than twice its price, ETHOS delivers a plush, big impact wine style in its youth.

About Ste. Michelle Wine Estates - www.smwe.com
Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, an icon of the Pacific Northwest, was the first premium wine company to establish roots in Washington state in 1933. Now more than 90 years later, we remain among the leading and most acclaimed premium wine companies in the U.S. with wines found in every state and over 100 countries. Showcasing distinctive Washington and Oregon growing regions, the award-winning wines are crafted with an unwavering focus on quality and a commitment to sustainability. The portfolio includes Chateau Ste. Michelle, 14 Hands, Columbia Crest, Liquid Light, ESTIVAL, Spring Valley Vineyard, and Northstar from Washington; and A to Z, Erath, and REX HILL from Oregon.