At Chateau Ste. Michelle, the European influence goes way beyond the brand name.

“I personally like wines that are a little more restrained and elegant,” winemaker Bob Bartheau said Monday by phone. “So we’re looking for a combination of Washington power and old-world restraint.”

That’s not always easy, said Bartheau, who’ll be in town this weekend as honorary winemaster for  Winefest No. 14, which includes a promising event featuring him. The issue is tannins; Bertheau says that taming them is “like harnessing a throroughbred to run the race.” 

That’s made even more difficult by the sheer size of the winery , which makes humongo lots of some wines and medium-sized and smaller amounts of others. With the top-end Ethos wines — which are uniformly spectacular, by the way – “I tell everybody ‘go away, this is my personal statement about the best fruit in Washington state for that vintage.’ ”

Otherwise, Bertheau sublimates himself. “The bigger the blend, the more I have to listen to somebody. When I’m making half a million cases of Columbia Valley chardonnay, I cannot make wines selfishly, there has to be a different level of friendliness,” Bertheau said. “Then when you get to a series like Cold Creek, it’s like ‘Bob you’re not the star here. The vineyard’s the star.’ ”

Sounds rather continental, eh? Still, the most conspicuous way in which this winery is Europhilic is in its alliances. In 1994, Chateau Ste. Michelle and Italian giant Antinori teamed up to make Col Solare, a Super Tuscan blend that is one of the most consistently delicious high-end wines made on the West Coast.

Five years later came a hookup with Mosel legend Ernst Loosen for the Eroica series. They make an ice wine, a regular riesling and a Single Berry Select riesling.

“Loosen saw what we were doing with Antinori and came to us,” said Bertheau. “Obviously their winemaking expertise is amazing, but it’s also their third-party verification that what we’re doing in Washington is special.”

The rieslings are delicious upon release, but probably not as long-lived as Loosen’s German offerings. “I’m not gonna say they’re Mosel long, because in the degree-day comparisons the Mosel is always out there by itself. So its wines hit high on both sides, sugar and acid,” said Bertheau. “We’re more like the Rheingau.

“But we’re not here to make German riesling; we’re here to find out what Washington can do best.”

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