Jim Mortensen, a senior vice president of human resources for Altria Group, Ste. Michelle’s corporate parent, will take over on Oct. 1.
Baseler joined the winery in 1984 as a marketer, took over as CEO in 2000. During his tenure, the winery has grown to $146 million in operating income from $21 million. That’s a 12.1% annual growth rate. Case production has grown to 8.5 million cases from 2.5 million in 2000.