Col Solare marks the meeting between two producers who are internationally renowned and influential in their respective regions and countries: the Italian marquis, Piero Antinori (Tuscany), and the American estate, Château Ste. Michelle (Washington).
The pioneering and always curious Marchese Piero Antinori responded to the offer of partnership by André Tchelistcheff, an American winegrower who became a point of reference in the world of wine and a consultant for Château Ste. Michelle, in 1992. This Tuscan winegrower subsequently discovered the great potential of American wines, notably that of Château Ste. Michelle, one of the oldest and most reputed winegrowing estates.
From this journey, a collaboration which magnified the meeting and combined the know-how of two winegrowing philosophies was born. This innovative partnership gave rise to Col Solare’s first vintage in 1995, produced mostly from Cabernet Sauvignon and deriving its distinctiveness from its powerful style and silky touch.
After several years of searching, the two partners decided on Red Mountain, one of the most famous sub-appellations in the Columbia Valley in Washington State, as the ideal location for installing the Col Solare winemaking infrastructures. Named after the native red grass that grows on this terroir, Red Mountain is an exceptional terroir for vine cultivation thanks to its soils, which are made up of sand and silt.
After more than two decades of winemaking, Col Solare has become Red Mountain’s most significant grower of Cabernet Sauvignon. Through its exceptional vineyard and extremely precise vinification, this collaboration highlights the subtle alliance between aesthetics and the resolutely modern visions of the two renowned winegrowers.
