In 1974, while working as an engineer at Scott Paper, Alex Golitzin began making wine as a hobby. Under the guidance of his uncle, the legendary André Tchelistscheff of Beaulieu Vineyard, he produced a single barrel of Cabernet Sauvignon. He continued producing a barrel each year until Tchelistscheff encouraged him to take it further. Golitzin listened, and in 1979 he bonded his winery under the name Quilceda Creek.

For the first decade, Alex needed to keep his day job while producing the wines in a shed using mostly scavenged equipment. Thanks to strong support from Robert Parker, though, their reputation for producing superlative wines began to grow and soon he was able to focus on the winery full-time. His son Paul joined the team in the late 1980’s and took over as head winemaker in 1993. Paul has not only continued his father’s work, but propelled the winery to even greater heights, including several 100-point scores from Parker and claiming the number two spot in the Wine Spectator Top 100 twice within ten years.

Things show no sign of slowing down and now nearly every critic recognizes Quilceda Creek’s place in the top echelon of American wine. Renowned for their concentration, complexity, age-ability, and balance, these wines share qualities with the greatest Cabernets of California, yet they possess a distinctive character that could only be from Washington.  Quilceda Creek is a seminal, iconic winery, and though they have come far from their humble beginnings, the goal remains the same: produce the best wine possible, and then do it even better next year.

"The pace-setter for more than three decades has been Quilceda Creek.” – Harvey Steinman, Wine Spectator Top 100 2015 (Quilceda produced the #2 wine)

“…without a doubt, this awesome estate... is producing some of the top Cabernet Sauvignon blends in the state, and I would venture, the world. While all of the wines are incredibly age-worthy, the tannins are so well managed and the textures so polished, they dish out immense pleasure even in their youth.”  – Jeb Dunnuck, The Wine Advocate

“My hope for the future is that many others will emulate this impeccably run winery, which is turning out compelling wines of irrefutable richness and complexity… Of all the producers profiled in this book, Quilceda Creek may be the only one that still remains below the radar of even the most knowledgeable wine enthusiasts. These are prodigious, world-class wines.”  – Robert Parker, The World’s Greatest Wine Estates