In the late 1960s, Oklahoman Charles Finkel thought the beer and wine scene sucked in his home state. He headed west as adventurists do landing in Washington state where his passion for all things fermented bloomed. He established the country’s first boutique wine and beer importing company called Bon Vin. During his European distribution work trips for Ste. Michelle wine (before the company added the “Chateau”), he drank the best beer in the U.K., Germany, and Belgium, then launched Merchant du Vin with his wife, Rose Ann, who passed in June 2020, to introduce Washington to Samuel Smith’s, Ayinger, Orval, Rochefort, and ilk. Their home became party central for notable wine and beer personalities such as Michael Jackson, Franz Inselkammer II, and Charlie Papazian. Tune-in to Grit & Grain Episode 41 to hear recount his extraordinary wine and beer life before he opened Pike Place Brewery in 1989. Tune-in next Friday to hear why and how Charles and Rose Ann launched Pike Brewing.
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Alright Grit and Grainers! Email us at cheers@gritandgrainpodcast.com with your comments, opinions, and suggested new items for Pike Brewing’s Famous Beer Museum. You can subscribe to GGP on Amazon, Apple Music, Spotify, Google Play, iHeartRadio, and Stitcher, and please leave us a review. Be sure to also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
If this podcast is not what you expected, please alter your expectations. No such thing as a bad time to visit Tacoma. No such thing as too much barleywine. Tune in next Friday for more sweet chatter. Cheers!
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