The Name

Cadence reflects our love of classical music, opera, dance, and also our involvement in competitive cycling and triathlons. In our wines the term invokes the qualities of balance, harmony and precision.

The Owners

Gaye McNutt grew up in Texas and Maryland, and went back to Texas for her undergraduate (Rice) and Jurisdoctorate (U. of Texas) degrees.

Summer internship lead her to the Pacific Northwest, and she found it an easy decision to come back to Seattle after law school. In January 2003 Gaye left her software law practice to focus on the winery. Gaye and Ben met in 1993 and fell in love with Washington vineyards and wineries during the grape harvest that year.

Benjamin Smith is a product of Ohio, having grown up in Columbus and attended Ohio State University. He graduated with a BSME in 1985. Boeing supplied the reason for his move to Seattle in early 1986. Ben spent the next 14 years involved in airplane design, focusing for several years on the flight control systems for the Boeing 737 and 757 airliners. Ben’s passion for winemaking began in the early 90’s using fruit from the well-known Boushey Vineyard.

The Youngest Member of the Winemaking Team

2001 was an extraordinary vintage on many levels for Cadence. Here is our harvest: Gaye went into labor at 1:30 AM Saturday morning September 8th. 38 hours later, our daughter Cara was born. We came home from the hospital Monday. The next day the horror of the World Trade Center terrorist attacks happened, and I found myself driving to the vineyards for my final harvest checks, desperately trying to avoid listening on the radio with no luck. The Merlot at Klipsun was ready to go immediately, so I drove back out the next day in a rental truck. I crushed and drove on alternate days for four more days. Gaye did wine deliveries 3 days after Cara was born. We actually have few recollections of these events, and must rely on the stories told by our families (bless them for their help) and our scribbled notes and records!

Recognition

Cadence has received consistently excellent reviews from the national press, including 92 pts and “Hot Wine of the Week” for Ciel du Cheval 1999, and 92 pts and “Highly Recommended” for 2000 Tapteil from the Wine Spectator, 93+ pts and high score of the vintage for Tapteil 2000 from Steve Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar annual Washington report. Cadence was awarded the 2002 “Artisan Winery of the Year” from Wine & Spirits Magazine, and was chosen as one of the top 100 reasons the editors of Food and Wine magazine love wine.