| Katy was born in Seattle to a very large and loud family! "We lived on Phinney Ridge until I was about 9 years old, until my father's job moved us to Walnut Creek, California. It was sad to leave the big loud family but I was 9 and had to go with them. A few of my oldest siblings were old enough to opt out of the move and we were never quite as loud again. A few years later we moved yet again, further south to Orange County in southern California, where I mostly surfed my way through high school with even fewer siblings moving with us again. The house was getting downright quiet with only three of the nine kids left at home."
Katy started her wine career at UC Davis in the late 80’s after a brief stint as a paleontologist at the Smithsonian. "I decided to change everything and attend UC Davis to earn degrees in enology and viticulture. At this point I knew a lot about winemaking but I didn't really know how to make wine. I started my new career learning how to make wine at the Robert Mondavi Winery in Napa as an intern research enologist and viticulturist in 1989 while still in school. Those were the golden days at the Mondavi Winery when Robert Mondavi was still running the show. He was an inspiration."
After graduating from UC Davis in 1991, and her stint at Mondavi, Katy landed a job with the Benziger Winery starting a research viticulture and enology program as Benziger went through a stunning transformation - changing their viticultural practices from organic to biodynamic growing methods. In 1995 Katy was hired by Geyser Peak Winery where she worked with “Aussie” Daryl Groom (formerly of Penfold’s) and honed her Syrah-making skills. Daryl sent her to South Australia’s Yalumba Winery for a vintage to soak up everything ‘Shiraz’.
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Katy's next career move was to the already-legendary Napa Valley winery, Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars where she worked as assistant winemaker to Warren Winiarski and Michael Silacci. There she learned how to work with and make intense and concentrated Napa Valley-styled Cabernet Sauvignon. Around this same time, Katy was engaged to speak about grape growing and winemaking at Lake Chelan in the late 1990s. While visiting Lake Chelan, she fell in love with the area and the possibilities of owning a winery of her own. Then, out of the blue, Chateau Ste. Michelle called Katy about a winemaking position in Woodinville, Washington. They had no idea she was already plotting a move back to her home state. Needless to say, she was ecstatic to be moving to Woodinville! While at CSM she worked alongside Eric Olsen and Ernest Loosen making the first vintages of “Eroica” and the ‘Single Berry Select’ Botrytized Late Harvest Riesling that won near perfect scores form the Wine Spectator.
"Over the years I dreamed about reuniting with my family in Seattle. My big brother Paul had planted the idea in my head a few years earlier of starting my own vineyard and winery in Chelan - preferably near his newly planted hobby vineyard." Fast forward: "One day while up in the mountains north of Seattle, I met Milum on a ski lift at Stevens Pass that first winter back in Washington in 2000. We haven't been apart since." Katy and Milum spent most weekends over the course of the following three years planting their vineyard. Many days were spent helping out the first orchardist-turned-grape-grower in Chelan with tips and friendly advice. Since opening Tildio in 2005, Katy and Milum have steadfastly remained the "hands-on" winemakers and growers that she had dreamed about for so long. It's what they love and it shines through in the quality of the Tildio wines.
Katy's newest task (aside from her daily Tildio activities) is serving as President of the Lake Chelan Wine Growers Association.
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