WOODINVILLE, Wash. — The Auction of Washington Wines, one of the top five charitable wine auctions in the U.S., has named Becca De Kleine of Four Feathers Wine Estates in Prosser as an Emerging Leader Award recipient for 2023.
This year marks the 36th annual Auction of Washington Wines, and the presentation to De Kleine will be part of the second annual TOAST! Honoree Celebration on Thursday, Aug. 10 at Château Ste. Michelle.
The festive Winemaker Picnic & Barrel Auction is Friday, Aug. 11 on the winery’s campus, followed by the auction’s signature Gala on Saturday, Aug. 12. The Gala Online Auction begins Tuesday, Aug. 8 and runs through Aug. 12. Money raised helps support Seattle Children’s, the Washington State University viticulture and enology program and grant partner Vital Wines in the Walla Walla Valley.
Each of this year’s TOAST! recipients will be announced this week on GreatNorthwestWine.com.
Previously announced honorees for the 2023 Auction of Washington Wines include longtime Costco executive Annette Alvarez-Peters (Honorary Chair), Ben Smith and Gaye McNutt of Cadence Winery (Honorary Vintners) and Miguel Rodriguez of Weinbau Vineyard (Honorary Grower). Co-chairs are Cam & Linda Myhrvold and Ian & Laura MacNeil.
“The mission of the auction is to uplift the Washington wine industry through celebrated events that give back to the industry and community,” says Jamie Peha, executive director of the Auction of Washington Wines since 2019. “With the Washington wine industry as our North Star, the auction can add value to the industry by recognizing past and present icons, emerging leaders and all aspects of the industry including vineyard workers and champions of the industry.”
And few in the Washington wine industry approach the scale of responsibilities surrounding De Kleine. As the general manager and director of winemaking for Four Feathers Wine Services and the Zirkle Fruit Co., she oversees the production of an estimated 1.4 million cases of wine along Benitz Road.
As fate would have it, she was just the second person hired by the Zirkle family for its then-fledgling winery project, and De Kleine’s well-timed arrival as the company’s enologist lined up with the classic 2012 vintage. She worked from the ground up, getting to know every corner of what’s grown into a 160,000-square-foot facility. And she’s walked many of the rows inside the five vineyards that make up the massive 3,500 acres for Four Feathers, all of which are certified as SustainableWA. The director of vineyard operations is Tom Merkle — Honorary Grower for the 2017 Auction of Washington Wines.
But what’s most important to De Kleine is communicating with more than 300 clients and her “team.” She takes pride in the lack of turnover at the facility and the opportunity to work alongside veteran winemakers such as Frederique Vion and Casey Cobble.
“People make our company’s missions possible,” De Kleine says. “Our team’s goal is to be the build Washington wine brands, provide turnkey client services for their success and efficiently produce custom services for products and packaging. Teams build things, great teams build great things.”
As student at WSU, researchers and her professors quickly spotted her potential, including identifying her palate as that of a “super taster,” making her particularly valuable for evaluating wine. De Kleine graduated in 2011, yet she maintains ties to WSU by serving as a guest speaker on campus, supporting the school’s viticulture and enology program and providing opportunities for those students. Last year, a nomination led to De Kleine receiving a Washington State University Tri-Cities Woman of Distinction Award.
De Kleine’s contributions to the wine industry and the community extend beyond Four Feathers. She serves on the board of directors for the Washington Winegrowers Association, is past-president of the Washington Wine Technical Group and is a member of the Washington State Wine Commission’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Task Force.
“The learning and sharing are what they’re about,” De Kleine says. “An industry can advance and innovate with good industry support. I’ve learned a lot by being involved — the vast knowledge of the community is exceptional; this industry is exceptional.”
Last fall, her continued research on the effects of smoke and frost led to her appearing on the cover of Wine Business Monthly Magazine as a Wine Industry Leader under the category of “Wine Wizards and Mentors.” She also was featured in the Seattle Times profile “Meet 3 women guiding the future of Washington’s wine industry.”
Auction to reveal all Toast! recipients this week
Last year, the Auction of Washington Wines created the TOAST! program, which helps cast a spotlight on a number of those who have been key to elevating and innovating the state’s wine industry, according to Laura Kleinhofs, business manager for the Auction of Washington Wines.
“When we conceived of TOAST!, it was important that we recognize established industry leaders, but we also wanted to have a category where we would recognize those “up and comers,” those people who may not be generally recognized.,” Kleinhofs says. “We feel that the well-established folks get the bulk of recognition — locally and nationally — and we didn’t want the next generation, those newer to the industry, to feel that they weren’t being seen. That’s why the category of “Emerging Leader” was originally conceived.”
Recipients of 2022 Emerging Leader awards were Sadie Drury of North Slope Management in the Walla Walla Valley, Shae Frichette of Frichette Winery on Red Mountain, Andrew Januik of Novelty Hill/Januik in Woodinville and Lacey Lybecker of Cairdeas Winery in Manson.
“Last year, we had so many nominations for that category, we decided it made sense to honor more than one, especially since the rest of the categories arguably are geared towards those who have been in the industry for a longer time,” Kleinhofs said. “This year, it was again the most popular category, receiving the most nominations, and with so many to choose from we again decided it made sense to honor four people.”
Ste. Michelle Wine Estates is the sponsor for the TOAST! Honoree Celebration dinner and new industry after-party. Tickets and information are available here.
This year also marks the launch of the Allen Shoup Memorial Fellowship, which will award one journalist each year with a two-week research project in Washington wine country. Shoup, founder of world-renowned Long Shadows Vintners in Walla Walla, backed the establishment of the Auction of Washington Wines when was CEO of Stimson Lane — which became Ste. Michelle Wine Estates in 2004.
Honor roll of 2023 TOAST! recipients
Monday, July 10
9 a.m. — Lifetime Achievement Award: Ted Baseler, retired President/CEO, Ste. Michelle Wine Estates
Noon — Award of Distinction: Marty Clubb, owner/managing winemaker, L’Ecole N° 41, Lowden
2:30 p.m. — Healthy Land, Healthy Communities: Hedges Family Estate, Red Mountain
Tuesday, July 11
8:30 a.m. — Emerging Leader: Becca De Kleine, GM/director of winemaking, Four Feathers Wine Services, Prosser
11:30 a.m. — Emerging Leader: Devyani Isabel Gupta, winemaker/viticulturist, Valdemar Estates, Walla Walla
1:30 p.m. — Emerging Leader: Michelle Moyer, professor, Washington State University, Prosser
3 p.m. — Emerging Leader: Ashley Trout, winemaker, Vital Wines/Brook & Bull Cellars, Walla Walla
Wednesday, July 12 – final day
9 a.m. — Vine to Wine: Eduardo Zaragoza, vineyard manager of Shaw Vineyards, Red Mountain
Noon — Wine Industry Champion: Andy Perdue, journalist, Richland
2:30 p.m. — Auction of Washington Wines Star: Gary McLean, President of GMMD Consulting, Seattle
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