Anyone having any connection to the Washington state wine scene for the last several years would know Stan Clarke. Just heard (and had it confirmed on the website of Wine Press Northwest) that Stan died this week, apparently of natural causes.
Stan was instrumental in many ways to the development of the wine culture and business Washington state. He was also one of the all time great guys: universally liked and admired. He was a winemaker, who decided to get a Masters in Teaching and then devote much of his time to teaching younger children. But he couldn't tear himself away from wine either, so for the last several years he has been a mainstay in the oenology program at Walla Walla.
Around those parts he's considered something of a giant. Sad to see him gone at 57 years old. But if a measure of the man is the regard in which his community holds him, he lived a great life.