Quilceda Creek - Giannikos Winery

Quilceda Creek was founded by Alex Golitzin (Galtzine). Alex is a descendant of Prince Lev Sergeevich Galitzine. After the Russian Revolution broke out in 1917, Alex's parents fled to Paris, where Alex was born. When World War II ends, the family moves to San Francisco, California. In 1967 Alex leaves for Washington with his wife Jeannette. Here they start building Quilceda Creek together.

Paul Golitzin joined his father as a winemaker in 1992 and now leads all aspects of vineyard management and winemaking. With a gifted palate and an uncompromising commitment to quality, Paul turned the winery's attention to its greatest assets: the vineyards of the Columbia Valley. Paul's vision catapulted the wines to a new level of excellence. Paul produces deeply colored red wines with great concentration, intense fruit aromas and well-integrated wood influences. In 2006, Quilceda Creek became the first winery outside of California to receive 100 points from Robert Parker. The winery has since received 100 points from the Wine Advocate several times.

The Quilceda Creek winery is located in Snohomish, Washington in the Columbia Valley AVA in Washington State. Quilceda Creek's grapes come from four plots: Champoux, Galitzine, Mach One and Palengat. The total planting consists of 86 hectares. The Champoux plot is located at an altitude of 600 to 800 meters. The soil consists of a sandy loam soil that ensures good root development. Champoux is located north of the Columbia River in the Horse Heaven Hills AVA. This vineyard is exclusively used for the production of Cabernet Sauvignon. The Mach One vineyard is located in one of the warmest parts of the region. It is therefore important that the vines are irrigated. This is done using the nearby Columbia River. The third vineyard, Palengat, is named after co-founder Jeannette Golitzin. Palengat is her maiden name. The last plot is also named after the family. Galitzine is their surname, but written in the Russian way.