Hedges Family Estate of Washington State Announces Promotion of Sarah Hedges Goedhart to Head Winemaker

BENTON CITY, Wash., April 28, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Hedges Family Estate, a pioneer of Washington State's Red Mountain AVA, announces the appointment of Sarah Hedges Goedhart as head winemaker. Daughter of winery founders and proprietors, Tom and Anne-Marie Hedges, Sarah has worked at Hedges in an assistant winemaker role since 2006. 

Born in Buenos Aires in 1981, Sarah spent her early years traveling the world with her family. While she and her brother Christophe (Hedges' General Manager) grew up in the vineyards, Sarah never planned for a career in wine. A graduate of the University of San Diego with a degree in Business and Philosophy, Sarah followed her boyfriend (now husband, winemaker Brent Goedhart) to a job at Santa Barbara Winery. Brent's excitement for wine was contagious and prompted Sarah to study chemistry and pursue winemaking. The couple moved to Sonoma and worked together in the cellars at Preston Winery of Dry Creek. Sarah recounts her experience there, "At Preston, we learned not only about winemaking, but also about biodynamic and organic agriculture, olive curing, bread baking in wood fired ovens and being part of the community."

In 2006, Sarah joined Hedges Family Estate full-time and worked as assistant winemaker under the tutelage of her uncle Pete, then head winemaker. In 2010, she completed a certificate in Enology from Washington State University. When Pete Hedges decided to retire, Sarah was the natural choice to take over.  Sarah says that she "sort of fell into winemaking and now wouldn't want to be doing anything else."

Sarah's love of all things fermented, not just grapes, finds her brewing Kombucha and baking bread in the Hedges winery kitchen. Sarah remarked, "I am lucky enough to have a brother who builds amazing things with stone. I needed a wood fired oven and he said 'No problem!'" In fact, there is always something fermenting at Sarah's house. "My husband and I also brew beer and cider and I can't wait to make kimchi. Once you start fermenting, it's hard to stop!"

With Hedges Family Estate's 25^th vintage in the market, Sarah commented that, "the family's goal is to create an environment where people feel the energy of the place, whether it's through drinking our wine or walking through our vineyards." She continued, "My parents built something incredible and they've allowed us to add to it over the years." Together the entire Hedges family is converting their estate vineyards to Biodynamic farming and winemaking. Currently, 40% of their 125 acres are certified Biodynamic with the remaining vineyards sustainably farmed.  For more information on the winery, visit hedgesfamilyestate.com.

Media Contact: Beth Cotenoff, Cornerston Communications, 212-605-0370, [email protected]

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SOURCE Hedges Family Estate