Wines of Substance

The journey of Charles Smith, America’s most prolific winemaker, has been anything ordinary. In 1999 with almost nothing in his pockets, he found a way to produce his first vintage...330 cases of K Syrah. In late 2001, he released that first vintage, selling it all by hand from the back of his 1987 Astro van, giving way to his first brand, K Vintners. Charles’s vision was to make a few thousand cases a year and live a happy life in a small town. Little did he know, that just wasn’t in the cards. Today, Wines of Substance is the largest winemaker-owned winery and the fourth largest wine producer in Washington State. It is also the thirty- third largest winery in the country. Covering almost every noble grape varietal in the world, the brands under the Wines of Substance family include K Vintners, Substance, ViNO CasaSmith, SIXTO, B.Leighton and now POPUP. While Charles puts nothing physically in his wines except the grapes, he is focusing all efforts on pouring even more heart into his wines in hopes of communicating more of what makes him and his wines so unique. Simply stated, Charles wants more in his wines. More of the intangible wonders of life...passion, natural beauty, tradition, goodness rock ‘n’ roll, heartache, tenderness, love, laughter, life and thankfulness. With that kind of vision, the future looks exciting and the possibilities are endless. As much as the journey has been anything but ordinary, it’s also far from over. Stay tuned...you never know what Charles will do next.