Charles Smith Revisited

Washington vintner Charles Smith has a big and distinctive personality. And if you taste through his portfolio as I do every year—labels such as K Vintners, Substance and Sixto—the carryover to the bottle becomes obvious.

- By Tim Fish

Smith’s persona by now is well-known even outside Washington state. His speaking voice is boisterous and fervent. His hair, you can’t miss that: a wild and curly mane that plays into his rock-star reputation.

But don’t let the rock ’n’ roll T-shirts fool you. Smith is not only a gifted winemaker, but a savvy businessman. After building a successful portfolio of value-oriented Washington wines, Smith in 2016 sold five of the brands to drinks giant Constellation: Kung Fu Girl Riesling, Eve Chardonnay, Boom Boom Syrah, Velvet Devil Merlot and Chateau Smith Cabernet Sauvignon. He made $120 million off the deal.

Not bad for a kid “who came from nothing.” A California native, Smith left home at age 18 and worked in restaurants, where he first began to learn about wine. “I soaked up everything that was positive. I was a blank slate,” Smith told Wine Spectator in 2014. “This is what shaped me.” Later he worked in Europe managing rock bands before settling in the Seattle area where he owned a tiny wineshop on Bainbridge Island, a short ferry ride from Seattle. That’s where he got inspired to become a winemaker.