From her first memories of growing up as a part of a hard-working agricultural family in Yakima, Amy knew her passion was rooted in the land and making something beautiful and wonderful from it. If you ask Amy, she’ll tell you stories about her very early childhood spending days asleep under a cherry tree while her family worked in the fields. And, she’ll mention that her life almost literally began in a strawberry field, when her mother went into labor the day she was born. Her interest in grapes & vineyards began at a very early age; however, due to many amazing opportunities along the way, those interests grew and blossomed into a deep passion for the entire end to end wine making process.

After starting out in the industry nearly 10 years ago, Amy had the opportunity to develop and hone her winemaking skills as part of the team at Ste. Michelle Wine Estates from 2003 – 2009. By 2006, she operationally owned all barrel fermented Chardonnay at Columbia Crest, leading and being part of a team that annually produced some of the most well-known and highly acclaimed white wines found in wine shops and retail stores across the US. If you ask Amy about her accomplishments during this phase of her career, however, she wouldn’t mention the accolades received, but would choose to focus her description on the incredible relationships she built with her mentors, Ray Einberger and Keith Kenison at Columbia Crest, and the fact that making classically styled, elegant wines “takes a village”. She’d mention the values she gained from her mentors about the importance of teamwork, respect, and harnessing her internal attention to detail in order to develop fine wines. But that’s just Amy…

In 2010, Amy had the next big opportunity present itself to her in the form of partnering with Tim & Kathy Sinclair of Sinclair Estates Vineyard (SEV) as the head winemaker/owner. Amy will talk more about how she’s so fortunate to be the winemaker for a great winery, with owners that shares her passion and approach to winemaking. And, quite simply, Amy’s idea of acclaim is seeing people experience and enjoy her wines with family and friends. But, then again, that’s just Amy!