Our take
Chateau Ste. Michelle Indian Wells Cabernet Sauvignon Washington Red Wine
- Style
- Red wine
- Size
- 750 ml
- Grape
- Cabernet Sauvignon
- Region
- Washington State
- Shelf barcode
- 0088586001864
Our take
What we make of this bottle
The name gives the grape plainly: Cabernet Sauvignon. Official grape guides describe the variety as firmly built, with noticeable tannin, and note that time in oak can add a note of spice. How much oak this particular bottle sees, if any, is a winemaking choice the listing does not record.
Washington covers a great deal of ground. The name takes in the whole state rather than a single growing area, and inside it sit 21 federally recognized AVAs, some crossing into Oregon. Most of the vineyards lie east of the Cascade Range, where the mountains block much of the Pacific rain and leave the growing season dry, with warm days and cool nights. Chateau Ste. Michelle says it was established in 1967, with its winery built at Woodinville, as Washington's first premium winery.
If you are weighing this against its neighbors at the shelf, the shopper score is one signal to go on. Across 28 ratings, shoppers have put it at 4.86 out of five. Among the 483 wines we have ratings for, the midpoint score is 4.71.
Our checks put the bottle between $17.99 and $25.99, a range current as of August 12, 2026.
Chateau Ste. Michelle's technical sheet for the 2022 vintage lists this as a blend of 85 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 12 percent Syrah and 3 percent Merlot, finished at 14.5 percent alcohol. The producer's own tasting note calls it “our warm climate ripe, jammy ‘New World' style of Cabernet Sauvignon,” the maker's words for a wine built on lush texture and concentrated blackberry and black cherry fruit. The sheet lists 18 months in oak, split mostly across neutral barrels with smaller shares of new American and new French oak, and the winemaking notes describe gentle pump-overs used to draw out color and flavor while keeping the tannins soft. Brand-wide, the winery names its current winemaking leadership, Katie Nelson as Vice President of Winemaking, with Joel Wright leading the reds, under a stated philosophy of respecting “the varietal characters and individuality of each location” in every wine it makes.
Our call: this bottle suits the shopper who picks Washington Cabernet by producer history and a clearly stated style; Chateau Ste. Michelle documents itself as the state's first premium winery, established in 1967, publishes the blend and oak program for this bottling, and the shoppers who have rated this Indian Wells bottling place it above the middle of the rated wines we cover. Pass if price is your first filter; nothing in our pricing record marks this bottle as a bargain, so the case rests on the house, its stated style, and its reception.
The Grocery Store Wine Desk · written Aug 17, 2026 from our research file for this wine. Numbers reflect our latest checks.
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Read our take →The prices we checked
Dated store checks, not a promise about your store.
- Kroger, Atlanta suburbs, GA$22.99
- Kroger, Cincinnati, OH$22.99
- Ralphs, Long Beach, CA$22.99
- Fred Meyer, Portland, OR$25.99
- King Soopers, Colorado Springs, CO$17.99
- Smith's, Las Vegas, NV$23.99
- Kroger, Knoxville, TN$18.99
- Kroger, Richmond, VA$17.99
- Fry's, Tucson, AZ$21.99
- QFC, Tacoma, WA$22.99
The regular price can vary by store and date.
From the producer
Washington's founding winery
Chateau Ste. Michelle says it was established in 1967 as Washington state's first premium winery, built in Woodinville. The winery's own site also says the Wyckoff family bought Chateau Ste. Michelle in 2025, returning it to local ownership for the first time in 50 years.
Research status
What we are still checking
Our overview above draws on the dated store feed, shopper ratings, our region and grape research, and any sourced producer facts. We are still working to confirm the current release, the full producer record, and the bottle itself, and we update this page as we learn more.
Getting to know Washington State.
A Washington label can point to a large state blend or to a narrower AVA. Most vineyards are east of the Cascade Range, but the exact AVA still matters because elevation, wind, rain and frost exposure change across the state.
What the name means
Washington is a state origin, not one American Viticultural Area. Its wine regions include 21 federally recognized AVAs, some shared with Oregon.
How grapes grow here
The Cascade Range blocks much of the Pacific rain from eastern Washington. That creates generally dry growing conditions with warm summer days, cool nights and winter frost risk, while western sites have stronger marine influence.
What lies under the vines
Flood deposits, windblown silt, sand, gravel and volcanic material occur across Washington wine country. A state name alone does not identify one soil or vineyard setting.
How large the region is
- Recognized AVAs
- 21 wine-growing areas are listed by the Washington State Wine Commission.
- Label resolution
- Washington State is broader than an AVA, so the bottle or producer must establish a more specific place.
Places within the region
- Columbia Valley
- A very large AVA that contains many of Washington's smaller wine regions and crosses into Oregon.
- Yakima Valley and Walla Walla Valley
- Two established AVAs within the broader eastern Washington landscape, each with its own boundaries and local conditions.
Getting to know Cabernet Sauvignon.
Cabernet Sauvignon is a red grape grown in many wine regions. It often makes firmly built wines and is also a common part of red blends.
Category guide
What to expect in the glass
Regional authorities describe black currant, cherry and plum as common fruit references, with noticeable tannin and possible spice from oak. Ripeness, climate and winemaking can move the wine from lean and herbal to broad and fruit-led.
Sources: Napa Valley Vintners. Checked Aug 10, 2026. See all 163 Cabernet Sauvignon wines we cover →
Where this information comes from
- Store listing
- Price, package, product identifier, and shopper rating. Checked Aug 10, 2026.
- Barcode
- The shelf barcode shown here is computed from the store product identifier. It has not been checked against a bottle.
- Method
- Every price, rating and fact here is a dated observation. How we check.