It was Tom Hedges’ contact in the produce export market that “planted the seeds” for Hedges Cellars. Tom was asked to produce a Washington State table wine for sale in Sweden. A winery was born. The first two vintages (1987 and 1988) of Hedges Cellars Cabernet-Merlot were sold exclusively in Sweden. Today, four different wines including the 1997 vintage of Cabernet-Merlot are sold in 45 states and 15 foreign countries. Hedges Cellars is being hailed as one of the country's “Great Red Meritage Producers.”

Tom Hedges led a career in International Marketing focusing on food commodities. He was employed by Castle & Cooke foods from 1976-1982 heading up offices in Buenos Aires, Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Vancouver, Canada. Next, he worked for Pandol Bros., a small dutch trading company in Seattle, importing Chilean produce and exporting fruit to the Far East and India. In 1984 Tom served as President and CEO of McCain Produce Co. in New Brunswick, Canada farming potatoes for export.

Tom met his French wife, Anne-Marie, in Guadalajara, Mexico at the Autonoma University of Guadalajara in 1975. Together they have raised two children.

From an early age Anne-Marie had a sense for adventure. Growing up with stories about the second world war, tales of the French resistance and visits from a British soldier saved by her grandfather from being captured by the enemy, it is no wonder that she wanted to see the world.

After high school, she attended college in England, Germany and Mexico. It was in Mexico that she met her future husband—Tom Hedges. They were married in 1976 in Champagne, France in a 12th century church. The international challenge had begun…

Accent in hand, she adapted to new food but still loved a good coq-au-vin. She tried her beer but her taste for good wine was too strong. Her grandfather, Marcel Dupont, Chevalier du Tastevin, had made sure of that.

Tom's work in international trade resulted in 11 moves for the family in 10 years—from the west coast of the United States to the east. From the west coast of Canada to the east, from warm Arizona where son Christophe was born to exotic Buenos Aires where daughter Sarah was born. Finally in 1986 Anne-Marie and Tom settled in Washington state to start Hedges Cellars.

Anne-Marie stayed behind closed doors doing bookkeeping and sales support while Tom looked for banks and customers. The transition from Finishing School in Paris in 1976 to performing an accounting role in the States was a bit of a stretch. Anne-Marie decided to go back to school and graduated with an AA degree in accounting.

Anne marie still handles some of the vineyard accounting and numerous other administrative tasks necessary for a small business owner. She is active in various non-profit organizations in the state of Washington. Anne-Marie is also a willing ambassador for Hedges Family Estate, the Red Mountain AVA and the Washington state wine industry. Her accent is still there, her french sense of style never left, her food preference is still old world but her taste for wine is distinctly American—Hedges Red Mountain. Naturellement!

Sarah was born in Buenos Aires and spent her early years travelling the globe with her family. In 1986 her parents settled in Seattle to start Hedges Cellars. A vineyard was planted in 1990 in Eastern Washington, Red Mountain area. In the summer Sarah along with her brother Christophe, worked in the vineyard and in later years at the new winery built on that same location. Sarah’s love for the industry soon would turn into a career choice. She attended the University of San Diego and graduated with a degree in business and philosophy. She later attended UC Santa Barbara to study chemistry and at the same time worked for Santa Barbara winery managing the tasting room and helping with Harvest. From 2003 to 2005 she worked for Preston Vineyards in Healdsburg, Sonoma County, doing wine production work.

In 2005, she decided to move back home and start working for the family winery. She joined the winery full-time in 2006 as Assistant Winemaker. She recently finished a two-year certificate course in enology from Washington State University.

Sarah and her husband, Brent Goedhart own the small Red Mountain winery, Goedhart Family. Brent has a certificate degree in viticulture from Washington State University and also worked at Santa Barbara Winery and Preston Vineyards to learn the art of winemaking. They live on Red Mountain with their young sons Lucas and Trevor.

Pete began work in the food industry in 1979 at the Olympia Brewing Co. as a Brewing Chemist, then Packaging Quality Control Coordinator then Brewing Lab manager and finally as the Brewmaster in charge of fermentation and finishing. He left the Brewery in 1997 to become General Manager at Hedges Cellars in Benton City and added the winemaking duties in 2001. He has been a member of the Institute of Food Technologists, the Master Brewers Association of the Americas and the American Society of Brewing Chemists, where he was President of the NW Chapter. He is currently a member of the American Society of Enologists and Vintners and the Washington Association of Wine Grape Growers.

Pete enjoys spending time with his family (wife Jane, daughter Rachelle and son Alex), snow skiing, bike riding, sea kayaking, mountain climbing, good food, wine and beer (both eating and making), good books and travel.

Son to Tom and Anne-Marie Hedges. 2001 Graduate of the University of San Diego with a Business Degree and minor in Theatre Arts.

Work history:
1999: Wine Steward, Costco Corporation, Morena Blvd, San Diego CA
2000-2001: Wine buyer, La Tavola Kitchen
Summer 2001: Columbia River Circuit PRCA, Bull rider, Bareback
Fall 2001: Lab technician, Hedges Family Estate
2001-2004: Hedges Family Estate, special projects, marketing, retail
2004-Present: Hedges Family Estate National Sales/Marketing Director, Farmer: Magdalena Vineyard

Family:
Wife: Maggie Hedges
Eldest Son: Julian Bergin Hedges
Youngest Son: Olivier Liegeois Hedges
Dog: Roman Maximillius Hedges

Parents: Tom and Anne-Marie Hedges
Sister: Sarah Goedhart

Hobbies: Collecting and drinking wine, eating good food, working outside in the vineyard, masonry/sculpting with stone, traveling.

Organizations: The Guardians of Red Mountain, Red Mountain Vintners Association

Place of Residence: Benton City, WA Red Mountain AVA, Magdalena Vineyard

Citizenship: United States and France

Music: Light Classical, Opera, electronic lounge, European ragtime Jazz

Dislikes: Houses made of wood, high-scoring wines and the rating system, negative attitudes, wines of high price with no history, image margins

Likes: Strong family ties, The old world way of thinking, wines of geographic representation, authenticity, eating the view, fireplaces at night with traditional music, reading on airplanes

A native of South Carolina, Boo attended the College of Charleston where he earned a BA in music composition.  His instrument: the banjo. While at the College of Charleston, Boo became the banjoist for the avant-garde punchgrass band, The Biscuit Boys, and continued his career with them in Nashville after graduating.

He traded his banjo career in for a life of finance in 2002 and spent the next six years working for Automated Trading Desk in Mt. Pleasant, SC. During this time, wine flowed like the salmon of Capistrano, and what started as a passion in wine became a neurosis.  

So much so that he left it all behind, grew out a handlebar mustache, and moved clear across the country into a double-wide trailer situated on 5 acres of Malbec vines just down the road from Hedges Family Estate, a winery he had come to admire immensely. The Hedges family took him in and taught him the art of farming, breaking his sedentary, computer-driven lifestyle. Boo is an official Guardian of Red Mountain, with the mark emblazed on his arm. More in tune with life than ever before, he is now an emissary of the estate and a soldier of the dirt.

Only after being in the Seattle area for 2 days, Molly walked into the Hedges tasting room on March 4, 1995 looking to taste the wines that she had heard so much about from her husband. Two days later on March 6 she was hired as the controller and has been with Hedges Family Estate ever since.

Originally from south Florida, Molly slowly moved across the country, taking up residence in Missouri, Wyoming and California. Molly moved to Seattle from the Bay area after six years as a Royalty and Severance Tax accountant at Chevron USA. She graduated with a BS in Accounting from CA State University, Sacramento in 1989 and passed the CPA exam in 1990. Molly enjoys spending time with her husband Dave and two daughters, Kelli and Sarah, as well as running, hiking, biking, traveling and of course wine tasting.

Meaghan was born in New Jersey where she and her family lived before moving to Richland, WA. She attended Columbia Basin Community College followed by Washington State University. It was at WSU where she received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Food Science and Human Nutrition. After graduating from college, Meaghan worked in health care while she pursued a career in business and received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting from Central Washington University. After graduating with her accounting degree, Meaghan worked for a Public Accounting Firm in Yakima.

In the spring of 2010, Meaghan and her husband, Jacob, welcomed their son, Carson, into their family. This new change was soon followed by the family relocating back home to the Tri-Cities. Meaghan joined the Hedges Family Estate team in the spring of 2011 excited about the chance to work in a beautiful location, learn more about their wonderful wines, and to work with a diverse group of people.

After graduating from Washington State University with a degree in Fine Art, Sean decided that the restaraunt business sounded exciting. It was. But, after spending more than a decade in the business, he decide that he actually wanted to see his wife and children while they were awake. The long hours and late nights were no trade off for missing a family dinner and being able to say good night to his family. So he called it quits and decided to find somewhere else to start a new career.

After trying out a few different jobs, he decided, with his wife's willingness to relocate if necessary, to pursue a career in the wine industry. With no small amount of patience and perseverance he found what he was looking for at Hedges Family Estate. So, he began the process of relocating his family from Seattle, to an area near the vineyards of Red Mountain, where he currently enjoys managing the supply of wine created in and amongst the very vines where it all begins.

Summers spent tending the family garden in Vermont lead to a lifelong passion for growing nourishing food. Later, working under renowned horticulturist Hunter Stubbs at Richmond Hill Inn as a gardener would inspire Jonathan to pursue a degree in Landscape Architecture. After graduating from Washington State University and working in a design firm for a couple years, Jonathan found his way back to his passion for healthy food, great wine, and beautiful landscapes when he started as the Landscape Manager at Hedges Family Estate.

Jonathan lives in Richland with his wife Michelle, daughter Emily, and son Logan. On any given day they can be found Geocaching around town.