RdV Vineyards, the upstart winery determined to prove that Virginia wine could stand proudly among the world’s best in quality and price, has been purchased by the owners of Bordeaux’s famed Château Montrose, the companies announced Monday in a joint statement posted on the RdV website.
Washington
Bordeaux powerhouse winery buys Virginia’s RdV Vineyards
RdV’s founder, Rutger de Vink, will remain through the 2024 harvest as a consultant. The rest of the RdV team will stay on board, including winemaker Joshua Grainer, a master of wine. The winery will be renamed Lost Mountain Vineyards, after the series of hills on which the vineyard sits, and will be under the direction of Grainer and Pierre Graffeuille, CEO of Château Montrose.
“The renaming is a natural outcome of the purchase and a celebration of the new era,” the companies said in the statement, which was expected to be issued in Bordeaux on Tuesday. “Converting RdV, Rutger de Vink’s initials, into ‘Lost Mountain’ pays tribute to the remarkable terroir of this ancient knoll once beloved by America’s founding father, George Washington.”
In an email to close contacts Monday, de Vink praised his winery team and supporters. “This time has given me purpose and happiness, not to mention the fulfillment of knowing we have created a world-class wine and helped put Virginia on the worldwide wine map,” he wrote. “Together, we have created something that many said could not be done.”
Château Montrose is a leading producer in the St.-Estèphe appellation of Bordeaux’s Left Bank. Classified as a second growth under the 1855 Bordeaux classification, it has been owned since 2006 by Martin and Olivier Bouygues, billionaire brothers who steer a family conglomerate operating in telecommunications, media and construction. They also own Château Tronquoy in St.-Estèphe, Clos Rougeard in the Loire Valley and Domaine Henri Rebourseau in Burgundy, as well as a cognac distillery and a truffle farm. This will be their first U.S. wine venture.
Those holdings and Lost Mountain Vineyards will be grouped under a new company called Eutopia Estates, the announcement said. It will be headed by Charlotte Bouygues, daughter of Martin and Melissa Bouygues. Melissa is a native of Baton Rouge.
Montrose is the first Bordeaux house to invest in Virginia, but the Old Dominion has enjoyed French influence over the years. De Vink enlisted Eric Boissenot, a consultant for four of the five Bordeaux first-growth chateaux, to blend his wines, and Jean-Philippe Roby to consult in the vineyard. Michel Rolland, Stephane Deronencourt and Lucien Guillemet have consulted elsewhere in Virginia. And several French-born winemakers are currently active. Several Bordeaux wineries have properties or partnerships in Napa Valley.
In 2004, after apprenticing under Jim Law at Linden Vineyards in Virginia and David Ramey in California, de Vink purchased a 93-acre sheep farm off Route 17 near Delaplane, in Fauquier County. The estate now includes 18 acres under vine, mostly Bordeaux varieties, cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc and petit verdot, and a retro-modern winery that resembles a farmhouse on the outside and a concrete and metal temple to wine inside.
From the 2008 vintage, RdV focused on two wines: a top cuvée called Lost Mountain, based on cabernet sauvignon, and a second blend, Rendezvous. Juice that didn’t make these wines was bottled as Friends and Family and occasionally showed up in shops or restaurants. RdV has also made small amounts of rosé and this year will produce its first white, a blend of albarino and semillon.
Even before RdV released its inaugural 2008s in April 2011, it was generating buzz as a potential Virginia first growth or an American grand cru.
Critics were impressed with the initial wines but skeptical that any from Virginia could fetch $88 and $55 a bottle. De Vink proved the skeptics wrong: The wines were an immediate success and caught the attention of British wine writer Jancis Robinson and chefs Eric Ziebold and José Andrés. The wines have improved over the years and are now on wine lists at many of the nation’s top restaurants, including Le Bernardin and Per Se in New York and the Bazaar and Minibar in Washington.
De Vink rejected the hospitality model familiar at Virginia wineries. RdV has no tasting room and does not host weddings. Tastings are by appointment and cost up to $140 for a tour and tasting, including food and library vintages. Sales are primarily through a membership program, with the current release of the Lost Mountain 2021 selling for $225 a bottle to members. Rendezvous currently sells for $110. The winery has about 2,000 members, de Vink said.
By focusing on one primary wine, the Lost Mountain, and making no compromises on quality, de Vink believed he could produce extraordinary wine. He used the analogy of automakers with a wide range of vehicles vs. those that specialize in one exceptional product.
“I wanted to make a Ferrari,” he said.
The French buyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but in an interview de Vink said RdV’s focus on quality caught the eye of Graffeuille when he visited the United States last fall to scout out prospective acquisitions. Martin and Oliver Bouygyes visited RdV in February, and sale negotiations began soon thereafter.
When he launched RdV, de Vink often poured his wine alongside Château Montrose and a high-end Napa cabernet sauvignon to demonstrate that it belonged at that level. Handing his project off to the Bouygues brothers “feels like coming full circle,” he said.
De Vink, an avid mountaineer and skier, said he and his wife, Jenny Marie, will relocate somewhere in the western United States or Canada where mountains and snow are plentiful.
Aside from the new name, the joint announcement of the sale gave little indication of any major change in direction for the winery. Grainer, who has been at RdV since the beginning and earned the master of wine title in 2022, said his charge from the new owners is to improve the vineyards so that more of the wine qualifies to make the top cuvée. That will mean less Rendezvous and Friends and Family, he said.
At Montrose, the Bouygues constructed new production facilities and purchased additional vineyards. At RdV for now, at least, the emphasis is on continuity and “ensuring quality and reverence for the vineyard’s storied past while steering it toward a promising future,” the joint statement said.
The Washington Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at May 11, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from May 11 drawing
24-30-37-56-64, Powerball: 07, Power Play: 3
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash Pop numbers from May 11 drawing
09
Check Cash Pop payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 3 numbers from May 11 drawing
7-6-9
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Match 4 numbers from May 11 drawing
07-12-18-19
Check Match 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Hit 5 numbers from May 11 drawing
07-09-11-32-42
Check Hit 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Keno numbers from May 11 drawing
05-07-15-27-30-32-35-36-40-43-45-47-49-58-59-62-64-65-72-76
Check Keno payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Lotto numbers from May 11 drawing
01-18-28-34-37-48
Check Lotto payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from May 11 drawing
09-13-34-42-59, Powerball: 01
Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize
All Washington Lottery retailers can redeem prizes up to $600. For prizes over $600, winners have the option to submit their claim by mail or in person at one of Washington Lottery’s regional offices.
To claim by mail, complete a winner claim form and the information on the back of the ticket, making sure you have signed it, and mail it to:
Washington Lottery Headquarters
PO Box 43050
Olympia, WA 98504-3050
For in-person claims, visit a Washington Lottery regional office and bring a winning ticket, photo ID, Social Security card and a voided check (optional).
Olympia Headquarters
Everett Regional Office
Federal Way Office
Spokane Department of Imagination
Vancouver Office
Tri-Cities Regional Office
For additional instructions or to download the claim form, visit the Washington Lottery prize claim page.
When are the Washington Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 7:59 p.m. PT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 8 p.m. PT Tuesday and Friday.
- Cash Pop: 8 p.m. PT daily.
- Pick 3: 8 p.m. PT daily.
- Match 4: 8 p.m. PT daily.
- Hit 5: 8 p.m. PT daily.
- Daily Keno: 8 p.m. PT daily.
- Lotto: 8 p.m. PT Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Powerball Double Play: 8:30 p.m. PT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Washington editor. You can send feedback using this form.
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This story contains descriptions of fatal violence against a transgender person.
The Seattle Police Department are searching for a suspect after a 19-year-old University of Washington student was stabbed to death in an off-campus student apartment complex on May 10.
Seattle Police Department Detective Eric Muñoz told NBC News that the victim is “believed to be a 19-year-old transgender female” who was enrolled at the university. The victim has not yet been publicly identified by name. She was found in the housing complex laundry room shortly after 10 p.m. on Sunday night.
The housing complex, Nordheim Court, is privately managed but affiliated with the university, located near an upscale shopping center in Seattle’s U-Village neighborhood. According to NBC News, residents received an official alert from UW to stay inside their homes and lock all windows and doors — an alert that was lifted around 1 a.m. with the acknowledgment that “a death investigation remains ongoing.”
According to SPD detective Eric Muñoz, police and the fire department attempted lifesaving measures but ultimately “pronounced the victim deceased at the scene.”
“Officers are actively searching for the suspect, believed to be a black male with a beard, 5’6-8” tall, wearing a vest with button up shirt, and blue jeans,” Muñoz wrote in a blotter report.
Muñoz noted that the victim would be identified by the medical examiner’s office in “the coming days.” The SPD did not immediately respond to Them’s request for comment.
This is the seventh known trans person to be violently killed in 2026. In mid-April, 39-year-old transmasculine farmer Luca RedBeard was fatally shot in rural New Mexico. Last week, police in Marion County, Florida opened a homicide investigation into the shooting death of a 29-year-old who went by multiple names and referred to “transitioning” on social media. In Kentucky, an investigation into the disappearance of 22-year-old trans college student Murry Foust remains ongoing.
Police are asking anyone with information about the University of Washington case to call the Violent Crimes Tip Line at 206-233-5000, emphasizing that anonymous tips are accepted.
This is a developing story.
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On a quiet stretch of Des Moines Memorial Drive in South Seattle, the Sea Mar Museum of Chicano/a/Latino/a Culture rises like a long‑overdue acknowledgment. Its brick exterior doesn’t shout; it invites. Inside, the rooms hum with the stories of families who crossed borders, harvested fields, organized classrooms, and built communities across Washington state—often without seeing their histories reflected anywhere on a museum wall.
For Rogelio Riojas, founder and CEO of Sea Mar Community Health Centers, the museum is a promise kept. “We wanted to make sure the contributions of Latinos in Washington state are recognized and preserved for future generations,” he told The Seattle Times when the museum opened in 2019. It was a simple statement, but one that captured decades of work—both visible and invisible—by the region’s Latino communities.
Walking through the galleries feels like stepping into a living archive. One of the most arresting sights is a pair of original farmworker cabins, transported from Eastern Washington. Their narrow wooden frames and sparse interiors speak volumes about the migrant families who once slept inside after long days in the fields. The cabins are not replicas or artistic interpretations; they are the real thing, weathered by sun, dust, and time. They anchor the museum’s narrative in the physical realities of labor that shaped the state’s agricultural economy.
Sea Mar describes the museum as “dedicated to sharing the history, struggles, and successes of the Latino community in Washington state,” a mission that plays out in photographs, letters, student newspapers, and oral histories contributed by community members themselves. These aren’t artifacts chosen from afar—they’re family treasures, personal archives, and memories entrusted to the museum so they can live beyond the kitchen tables and shoeboxes where they were once kept.
The story extends beyond the museum walls. Just steps away is the Sea Mar Community Center, a sweeping, light‑filled gathering space designed for celebrations, performances, workshops, and community events. With room for nearly 500 people, a full stage, a movie‑theater‑sized screen, and a catering kitchen, the center was built with one purpose: to give the community a place to see itself, gather, and grow. Sea Mar describes it as “a welcoming space for families, organizations, and community groups to gather, celebrate, and learn,” and on any given weekend, it lives up to that promise.
Together, the museum and community center form a cultural campus—part historical archive, part living room for the region’s Latino communities. Students come to learn about the Chicano activists who reshaped the University of Washington in the late 1960s. Families come to see their own histories reflected in the exhibits. Visitors come to understand a story that has long been present in Washington, even if it wasn’t always visible.
The Sea Mar Museum is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., offering free admission to anyone who walks through its doors. For many, it’s more than a museum—it’s a recognition, a gathering place, and a testament to the people who helped shape the Pacific Northwest.
Preserving Latino History and Community Life in Washington was first published on Washington Latino News (WALN) and republished with permission.
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