Viticulturist to be inducted the Legends of Washington Wine Hall of Fame

Stan Clarke likely would be embarrassed to know he's being inducted into the Legends of Washington Wine Hall of Fame.

But for his family, it's an honor for the humble, low-key viticulturist and teacher who died in November.

"We are so proud of his accomplishments," said his wife, Carol Clarke, who is superintendent of the Waitsburg School District.

Clarke's love for viticulture started when he was a young cadet at the Air Force Academy and grew throughout his life. When he was stationed at the Arctic Circle in Alaska, Clarke worked closely with the University of Alaska, researching the growing days needed for different plants.

He and fellow servicemen took excursions to Germany to enjoy the wines, and while there he met his wife.

After his time in the Air Force, Clarke went back to school -- studying viticulture at the University of California, Davis.

Then in 1982 he became one of the founding members and general manager of Quail Run, which is now known as Covey Run. Then he became winemaker and general manager at Hyatt Vineyards.

Clarke again returned to school -- this time to get a master's degree in teaching at Washington State University and started a new career as a sixth-grade school teacher, his wife said.

Clarke taught middle school in Grandview each day, but in his spare time he wrote columns about wines and judging, keeping in close contact with the wine community.

In 2001, Clarke got a call from the president of Walla Walla Community College. His wife recalls, "He came to me and said they wanted us to come up to Walla Walla to talk to us. He said, 'Carol this is the dream job -- it's just bad timing.' "

Carol had just taken a new position in the Sunnyside School District and Stan had started going back to WSU to obtain a master's in counseling, but she encouraged him.

"I told him that dream jobs don't come along very often," she said.

So Clarke became associate director of the Walla Walla Community College Center for Enology and Viticulture, combining his love for teaching, winemaking and grape growing.

The first year was rough.

Clarke still was under contract to teach in Grandview, which he did every day. Then he drove to Walla Walla several nights a week to teach classes at the center.

"When we moved to Waitsburg two years later, he said to me, 'We live in heaven -- I have the most beautiful drive to work,' " Carol said.

Martin Clubb, owner and managing winemaker at L'Ecole in Walla Walla, said Stan Clarke was the perfect choice as the center's director.

"We immediately thought of Stan," said Clubb, who was on the college's search committee. "He was a mentor for every one of his students and was the kind of guy who loved to share."

Clubb said Clarke was obsessed with improving viticulture practices and sharing his knowledge. "Anyone who knew Stan really admired him," he said.

He was passionate, but never took himself too seriously, Carol said.

He was always sunny and upbeat, and even in the dead of winter would be wearing shorts and a Hawaiian shirt -- his uniform of choice.

Often his socks didn't match.

"I'd tell him, but he'd say, 'If people want to judge me on whether my socks match, I don't think I want to know them,' " Carol said.

He would never embarrass anyone.

"We would go into a restaurant and the waiter would be talking about a wine that Stan had something to do with, and he wouldn't say anything -- even if what they were saying wasn't accurate," Carol said. "He would just listen."

There's only one thing he couldn't abide -- eating off paper plates.

"If he was at your house and you handed him a paper plate, he'd ask you for a real one," she said, chuckling.

Stan Clarke will be inducted at the annual Legends of Washington Wine Hall of Fame gala July 12 at the Prosser Wine & Food Park, adjacent to Hogue Cellars.

The event begins with a reception sponsored by Anthony's Homeport restaurant with seafood appetizers paired with samples of vintages from six Washington wineries.

The cost is $125 per person or $850 for a table of eight.

For reservations call Debbie Toner at 509-947-1316.