Conn Creek Winery

back to Our Team Katherine (Katie) Cotterill Enologist

As a native of Kentucky it might have been more natural for Katie Cotterill to pursue a career in the bourbon industry, but luckily for Conn Creek the wine industry held more appeal. Katie became interested in wine while waiting tables at a fine dining restaurant while studying for a Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Kentucky. When the owners of a Kentucky winery encouraged her to apply her science background to winemaking, the light bulb went on. She sent her resume to every winery on the restaurant’s wine list; when Chateau Ste. Michelle offered her a harvest internship, she packed up her car and moved to Washington.

After completing the internship, she was invited to help with blending and bottling. It was this blending experience that gave her insight into the possibilities that lay ahead. When an opportunity to join the winemaking team as enologist at Conn Creek Napa Valley arose, Katie was once again packing her car.

Katie enjoys the diversity of her responsibilities. This includes everything from chemically analyzing the wines, collecting grape samples at harvest, preparing trial blends, and hosting barrel blending seminars for trade groups. As a scientist, she’s fascinated with enology, but recognizes that winemaking is an art as well, particularly when it comes to blending. Still, as she says, “You can only blend world- class wine by keeping the components healthy during fermentation and aging.”