Jeremy Santo, pictured in 2021. Image by Richard Duval.

Jeremy Santo, who spent more than 20 years working in the Washington wine industry, died March 12th. The cause was related to injuries sustained in an automobile accident that occurred February 11th.

Santo worked as winemaker at some of Washington’s best known wineries, including Chateau Ste. Michelle, Ryan Patrick, Mercer Estates, and J. Bookwalter. He was 45.

“There aren’t many people in the industry, if any, that are universally loved like Jeremy was,” says Joshua Maloney, a winemaking consultant who worked with Santo for 10 years at two different companies. “Literally everybody that he worked with, everybody that he interacted with became a fan of Jeremy.”

Jeremy S. Santo was born April 19, 1979 in Sunnyside, Washington, the child of Gerald and Leatrice (Muira) Santo. He grew up in Prosser and was a graduate of Prosser High School. Santo received a B.S. in biology from Washington State University.

Santo started out in the wine industry in 2003 as a laboratory technician at Snoqualmie Winery, a Ste. Michelle Wine Estates (SMWE) brand in Prosser, Washington. Jessica Munnell (now at Wautoma Springs) worked with Santo at Snoqualmie and hired him as enologist when she became assistant winemaker at SMWE’s Canoe Ridge Estate winery in Paterson, Washington.

Santo worked at the company as enologist from 2006 to 2011 before being promoted to assistant winemaker. There, he worked under head red winemaker Joshua Maloney.

The following year, Maloney hired Santo as red winemaker at Wahluke Wine Company, a custom crush facility in Mattawa, Washington. Santo was also winemaker for the Ryan Patrick wines while at the company.

When Munnell left her position as winemaker at Mercer Estates, she recommended Santo. He worked at Mercer as winemaker from 2017 to 2021. Mercer Estates is one of Washington’s larger wineries, producing approximately 60,000 cases per year at the time.

In 2021, Santo was hired as winemaker at J. Bookwalter, one of the state’s oldest and most respected wineries. Most recently, Santo worked as a sales representative at AEB, a provider of winemaking, beer, and other beverage products and solutions.

“Jeremy has got to be one of the most likeable people I have ever met,” says Jessica Munnell. “He was such a good friend to everyone. But the most important thing about Jeremy was how much he loved his family.”

Santo is survived by his parents, daughter, son, two brothers, and other family members.

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