The Winery Charbonneau of Walla Walla Valley of Washington

The Alsace-based group is France’s biggest wine exporter and the biggest private winemaker in the country, with 68 properties spread across the country. It is also the largest exporter of French wine, accounting for around one in every six bottles sold in international markets, with brands including Calvet and J.P. Chenet. The company, whose full name is Les Grands Chais de France, recently shifted its strategy in a bid to become a global wine producer with estates in a variety of premium wine r ...

The family-owned company made its first foray into Washington State last year when it began buying grapes from select vineyards throughout the Walla Walla Valley. The winemaking team was impressed by the quality coming out of the region, and it has now pounced on the opportunity to acquire land there. It snapped up 61 acres of an existing 117-acre property in Mill Creek. A local firm called Abeja, founded by Ken and Ginger Roberts, bought the land back in 2000 in a bid to grow world-class Cabern ...

The luxury wine group bought Bottom Line Ranch in the San Miguel District for an undisclosed sum. It is exclusively planted with Cabernet, featuring seven top clones on three drought-tolerant rootstocks. Alex Ryan, chief executive and president of The Duckhorn Portfolio, said the sub-appellation’s climate is ideal for producing world-class Cabernet Sauvignon. ‘There is a reason why Paso Robles has the most Cabernet Sauvignon acreage of any appellation in California outside of Napa Valley,’ added ...