About Steve: We like to say Steve has been "fermenting things for 20 years". He attended the University of Maryland, graduating in 1988 with a degree in Computer Science. He became an avid beer home-brewer and certified home-brew judge in the early 1990’s. Steve has studied grape-growing extensively for the past decade and completed coursework in winemaking at Washington State University and University of California at Davis.
Looking back, Steve attended his first class on "Grape Growing in the Puget Sound" at Bainbridge Island Winery in 1998. Shortly after attending the class he and a partner, Jeff Jernegan, leased an abandoned 5-acre vineyard on Vashon Island, named it Maury Island Vineyards, and began planting and experimenting with over 20 varieties of grapevines. Steve and Jeff also reclaimed the existing Chardonnay, Muller-Thurgau, Pinot Noir, Siegerrebe, Madeleine Angevine, and Gewurztraminer vines. The first harvest from MIV came in 2000.
Shortly after that we moved to Woodinville, and
Hollywood Hill Vineyards became a bonded winery in 2004. "The
lease was up on Maury Island and we had two small kids, so we
decided to look for a place to grow grapes closer to our day jobs.
We had always targeted Hollywood Hill as an ideal growing location
and were very fortunate to find our place in Woodinville." The first Pinot Noir and
Chardonnay vines were planted at HHV in early 2004, and the first
wines from the Estate Grown grapes were released in April 2008.
Steve sits on the Board of Directors for the Puget
Sound Wine Growers Association and has lectured on
viticulture topics throughout the area. He has been
a guest lecturer at
South Seattle Community College and
was on the speakers panel at the Western Washington
Horticulture Association convention in January 2008. In June 2008, he was a guest speaker on “Starting a
Winery” at the Northwest Agriculture Business Center in Mount
Vernon.
He also lectured at the Focus on Farming event in 2008 in
Snohomish County. For the past 2 years he has held a very
popular full-day class, Growing Grapes in a Cool Climate,
open to anyone interested in viticulture.
About Becky: Becky's interest in
wine began with a glass of Robert Mondavi Fume Blanc. "I'm not
proud of it, but that is honestly the first time I realized there
was more to wine than Boones Farm Strawberry!" Fortunately
things took off from there, and her love of wine was solidified
after reading Adventures on the Wine Route by Kermit Lynch.
"I credit this book with completely demystifying French wines and
opening the door to our uninhibited exploration of Burgundy,
Bordeaux, Chinon, et al."
What began as a hobby took on more significance when Steve decided
to pursue grape-growing and winemaking professionally. "We had
our two boys and Steve stayed home with them as we contemplated and
began building the business." Last year, Becky left her career
in the wireless industry to focus on the business and marketing side
of Hollywood Hill Vineyards. "It's very different than the
corporate world. I love the fact that Steve and I can make
decisions quickly and see the direct result of our efforts.
It's also allowed me to be more creative, especially since I love to
pair our wines with foods and share them with friends and guests."
Perhaps the biggest surprise has been how much she loves the tasting
room - meeting and talking with so many people about our shared love
of wine!
About the Hill
Hollywood Hill is a couple of miles to the south of downtown Woodinville and about 1 mile east of the Chateau Ste. Michelle winery. There has been a long tradition of farming in the Sammamish Valley and on Hollywood Hill dating back to the 1880's.
The community was originally called Derby, but was changed to Hollywood about 100 years ago. Some think it was named Hollywood because of the holly trees that lined the road to the old Stimson farm (now Chateau Ste. Michelle).