Seth Cohen is one busy guy. Seth is winemaker for one of North Central Washington’s oldest and most established wineries, Stemilt Creek Winery, as well as wine and cider maker for Archibald James, one of the newer winery and cideries in our area. Archibald James is located at 617 Front Street in Leavenworth.Seth has worked 20 years in the grape and wine industry, receiving his MS and PhD at Oregon State University, and then founding the Fermentation Science program at Appalachian State University in North Carolina. His graduate work focused on understanding the influence of temperature and sun light exposure on the biosynthesis and accumulation of polyphenolics in grapes. Fortunately, he feels that the smoke from last fall’s wild fires will not leave the wines from 2020 with smoke derived flavors, however the reduction in sunlight during ripening does impact the vintage as a whole.

With Covid being a huge factor for wineries this year, Seth is looking to create opportunities to engage more with wine consumers and wine club members of Stemilt Creek winery. He was disappointed that their annual wine club release party had to be cancelled, because it is a great opportunity to engage and give back to their loyal members. He is looking forward to harvesting some new varietals that they have grafted into their vineyard, including Malbec, Petit Verdot, Petit Sirah, Tempranillo, and Grenache. Seth is very appreciative of the support from Kyle and Jan Mathison, owners of Stemilt Creek Winery and the amazing team they have fostered.Archibald James includes Brian and Cyndi Noyd of Wenatchee. Seth handles the production end of the operation, and the Noyds run the business side of the company. Their ciders have been available for two years, and now they are selling their first releases of white and red wines. Seth sources their organic dessert apples from Stemilt and an array of cider and heirloom apples from other growers in the area. They focus on barrel-aged ciders that are much more on the dry side of the spectrum. A similar philosophy is taken through the winemaking process; allowing the quality of the fruit to be the focus, adding minimal sulfites, limited use of oak, and respecting alcohol content and balance.Whether we’re drinking Archibald James’ cider or wine, or wine from Stemilt Creek, we say “cheers to Seth Cohen”!