WOODINVILLE, Wash. — The Auction of Washington Wines, one of the top five charitable wine auctions in the U.S., has named Gary McLean as its Auction of Washington Wines Star Award recipient for 2023.
This year marks the 36th annual Auction of Washington Wines, and the presentation to McLean 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 10 TOAST! recipients were announced July 10-12 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.”
McLean’s career began with building his family’s Tacoma-based trucking firm, Interstate Distributor Co. In 1984, during dinner with an important new customer at a high-end restaurant in San Francisco, he was told to select the wine. He picked a white Zinfandel.
After the customer told McLean that he was never to pick the wine again, McLean committed himself to learning more about it. As a member of the Columbia Tower Club, he met many people who would go on to be luminaries in Washington state wine: Allen Shoup, Gary Figgins, Eric Dunham and Marty Clubb, just to name a few. He discovered these folks not only had passion and dedication, but they also were good people he enjoyed being around.
As he fell in love with Washington wine and winemakers, McLean began taking cases of wine with him on trips throughout the country, introducing his clients, sommeliers and restaurant owners to Washington wines. He launched acclaimed Barons V Winery in Woodinville in 2001 and remains linked to its partnership after moving the brand to Walla Walla.
McLean became co-chair for Auction of Washington Wines in 2003 and 2004. Through his extensive network of winemakers and business owners, McLean served as a procurement manager for the Auction of Washington Wines from 2018 to 2020, bringing some of the most coveted and highest-earning lots to the auction. Some of those feature original Chihuly drawings, “French Connection” dinners featuring Christophe Baron of Cayuse and Seattle chef Thierry “The Chef in the Hat” Rautureau, and two private dinners with iconic wine critic Robert Parker.
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.
For the Auction of Washington Wines Star Award, the honoree is a donor, organization or individual whose commitment significantly advanced AWW’s mission of uplifting the Washington wine industry and supporting the community. The inaugural TOAST! Auction of Washington Wines Star award was presented to Château Ste. Michelle.
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, who founded world-renowned Long Shadows Vintners in Walla Walla, was the CEO of Stimson Lane and backed the establishment of the Auction of Washington Wines.
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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