In 1977, twelve years before Rose Ann Finkel co-founded Seattle’s iconic Pike Brewing, Truffles, the “gourmet grocery” that she and two other women started was rated by Time Magazine as “one of America’s five best specialty food stores.” She is a pioneer in the wine business as well, working with her husband Charles to market European and American wines nationally. The sale of their Bon Vin, Inc. brought them to Seattle in 1974 to build Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery. She was a member of Les Dames d’ Escoffier, an organization that mentors women in the food world, and was posthumously named a “Woman of Influence” by the Puget Sound Business Journal. Rose Ann claimed that her early years in New Orleans introduced her to “the pleasure of the table”. Charles claims that she had an extraordinary palate! The Finkels started Pike Brewing in 1989. It is now Seattle’s oldest craft brewery. An article in Forbes Magazine describes her and Pike’s commitment to Planned Parenthood, and the book, A Woman’s Place is in the Brewhouse, by Tara Nurin, and published in 2021 devotes a chapter to Rose Ann as a beer pioneer. Rose Ann was a co-leader of Seattle Slow Food, and served on the national board of the Weizmann Institute of Science. This scholarship is an illustrative example of Rose Ann Finkel’s spirit: visionary, optimistic, loving, pragmatic, gracious, charitable, and always working for the betterment of the community – not just her own but everyone’s. The Finkels intentionally hired and promoted people from all backgrounds. As Rose Ann lay dying and protests for racial justice raged, she and Charles passed many of her last days and nights listening to audio books and watching movies about civil rights, a cause that she supported her whole life.
Award Requirements
This scholarship shall be used to support equity-seeking populations in any Viticulture and Enology certificate program with a strong preference for the brewing certificate program.