2025 INDUCTEES

Charles Finkel

Originally born in New York, Finkel was raised in Oklahoma, studying design and marketing at the University of Oklahoma. After graduation, he moved to New York to work with a prestigious wine merchant. After a promotion, he moved to Houston, Texas, where he met his wife, and future business partner, Rose Ann Finkel. After several years in the wine trade, the couple moved to Washington and founded Merchant Du Vin in 1978, adding beer to their portfolio. The Finkels were instrumental in bringing numerous now-well-known imported beers to the U.S., giving Americans their first taste of exotic styles and different flavors. This in turn inspired many brewers to make their own versions of these styles. In 1989, they also founded a brewpub, Pike Brewing, in Seattle’s Pike Place Market.

Rose Ann Finkel

(October 20, 1946 - June 16, 2020)

Rose Ann Finkel was born in New Orleans, but grew up in Houston, Texas. A mutual friend introduced her to Charles Finkel and he took her to a wine event and later for a beer on their first date, and it was love at first sight. Six months later they were married. A year later, the couple founded their own wine venture. Eventually, through a series of steps, they moved to Seattle to run Chateau Ste. Michelle, but sold their interest in the business a few years later. In 1977, Rose Ann and two friends opened Truffles, a small specialty grocery store in Seattle that sold imported and domestic beer, along with corned beef and cheesecakes. In 1978, Charles and Rose Ann set their sights on both beer and wine, founding the import company, Merchant du Vin. Rose Ann provided the business sense to compliment Charles’ design aesthetic.