Marie and Bill Temple have been involved in grape growing and wine making for over forty years. They planted their Monterey County Vineyard in 1977. Varietals include Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Chardonnay. Marie and Bill have been making wine in their backyard for over twenty-five years, and have enjoyed giving it to their friends.

Marie is the daughter of pioneering grape growers in the Yakima Valley in Washington. She and her siblings recently sold their forty-acre vineyard in Prosser, Washington.

Bill, a graduate of San Jose State University, retired in 2005, after a fifty-one year career as a general insurance broker. Bill and Marie decided that they would like to do something together. Having traveled over the years to the major wine-producing countries (during harvest season), they thought it would be fun and professionally rewarding to begin a wine business. Hence, Chateau Marie Antoinette was created.

Marie and Bill's mission is to produce and sell quality wines at discount prices to under served populations. They found that Latinos, Asians, and the Gay Lesbian Communities are under served. The Surgeon General's Report shows that drinking a glass of red wine daily can reduce cancer and heart conditions, which prompted the focus on these groups. The wines are specifically blended to the tastes of the ethnic characteristics of the foods that these groups enjoy. Chateau Marie Antoinette has a family of fine wines to achieve this mission.

The Gay Lesbian Community is somewhat different. The Temples have lost two cousins and several friends to AIDS. They have established the Charles Johnson AIDS Research Fund. Five percent of all Rainbow Bridge wine sales go to AIDS research. (They encourage retailers to also donate to this cause.)

All Grapes come from the Central Coast appellations of Monterey and San Luis Obispo counties. One of the partners has vineyards in the Arroyo Seco and Paso Robles areas with 49 acres of premium grapes. Marie and Bill supplement their grapes with selected fine bulk wines from special wineries in Carmel Valley, Monterey and San Luis Obispo Counties.