Woodhouse Family Cellars
is a partnership between the Shahs and winemaker Tom Campbell, Shah’s
uncle. They debuted with 100 cases of their 1998 vintage of Darighe,
a Bordeaux style blend that sold out three months after its release in
2001.
Bijal and Sinead Shah, Owners
Calling Bijal Shah a wine lover is an understatement. “Passion,” “fetish,” or “obsession” more
accurately describes his relationship with wine. As a longtime fashion
industry executive involved in design and manufacturing, Bijal has criss-crossed
the globe many times over. In the process, he’s managed to pick
up a bottle—or case—of wine here and there.
To that end, his passion was shared within his web of business
contacts. It wasn’t long before Bijal and his wife, Sinead,
were encouraged to start their own winery. Bijal brought that
vision to his uncle, winemaker
Tom Campbell, in hopes of creating the ultimate Bordeaux style blend
in 1998. In the beginning, they produced 100 cases of a delicious red
they called Darighe solely for friends and associates.
Sinead, a Boeing 777 pilot, is of Irish-English
descent and stands as the inspiration behind the Darighe name (Darighe
appropriately means “red”). She and Bijal conceived of
the logo for the bottle, a dramatic red Celtic design. It’s the
first business endeavor the couple has pursued together, one that is
quickly becoming the toast of the Northwest and undergoing exponential
growth.
Bijal is a native of Mombassa, Kenya. He and Sinead reside in Bellevue.
Tom Campbell,
Winemaker
Blessed with a keen ability to blend and a passion that keeps him in
constant pursuit of the ultimate bottle of wine. Tom Campbell has built
an amazing career around his love of delighting wine connoisseurs. After
attending the University of California at Davis short course program
in Enology and Viticulture, Tom went on to work for Jekel in Monterey,
beginning a career immersed in the world of wine.
In 1981 he was an enologist at Chateau Ste. Michelle’s
Grandview Winery, later moving on to head the white wine program at
Quail Run, now known as Covey Run. By the mid 1980s Tom started Horizon’s
Edge Winery in Zillah, Washington. Tom’s reputation as an accomplished
winemaker and consultant prompted his nephew, Bijal Shah, to approach
him to create wines for Woodhouse Family Cellars in 1998.
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