Walla Walla Wine Tasting Vacation - Day 2

Well, it's a tough job, but somebody has to do it!  Vacationing that is...today I started out by going to the Fort Walla Walla Museum, seeing some wonderful exhibits on the history of Walla Walla and the settlements here from pioneer days just after Lewis and Clark made their expedition.  And then it was down to the serious business of wine tasting.  I started the afternoon at Seven Hills Winery, one of my long-time favorites going back to my very first trip to Walla Walla in 2001.  

I had a wonderful time tasting some wines that I already had in my cellar, like the 2016 Seven Hills Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon which is drinking even more beautifully now than in 2019.  I was hosted wonderfully by Emma, and then Julie came out to have a nice conversation with me, and we had a chance to do a side-by-side tasting of the 2018 Pentad with the 2019 Pentad from the barrel.  The new vintage is very interesting and will make an intriguing wine by the time it's released.

We then chatted about some of the changes coming to the winery with a new restaurant that will soon open, replacing Whitehouse Crawford, which closed during Covid.  This will provide some nice opportunities to combine more food and wine pairings in the future.

When I finished at Seven Hills, it was off to see Mary Darby at DaMa Wines.  Mary is always a pleasure to talk with, and good conversation makes hours seems like minutes, and of course sipping on wine during that time may have helped the time go fast!

Of course, sipping on wine and enjoying good conversation makes distractions an acute hazard, which is why I ended up leaving with a half dozen tamales from the tamale lady that stopped by.  What in the world am I going to do with tamales with another week and 4,000 miles to go?  Well, I don't have an answer to that, but I can confirm those were some of the most delicious tamales I've had!

Cheers!

Walla Walla Wine Tasting Vacation - Day 1

Well, I have to admit, vacationing is hard work!  I am enjoying a few days of wining and dining in Walla Walla on my summer vacation national park tour.  I started the day with a drive to the Columbia Gorge to take some photos of the mighty Columbia River and then I drove back into town for stops at Woodward Canyon and L'Ecole No. 41 to taste a bit and buy some wine.  Then it was off to my first official tasting of the day at Reininger Winery, one of my long time favorites.

Reininger has made some changes to their tasting room, though some of the artwork is still the classic, showing Raul (aka Mr. Owl).

Having tasted through some of the classic Helix and Reininger red wines, including the new Helix Crush Crew Red (count me a big fan, but more on that in a future post.  Eventually, we got to tour the barrel room and do a bit of barrel tasting.  The barrel room was such a relief given that the outside temperature over the past few days has been well into the triple digits!

We had a chance to taste some of the 2020 Tempranillo, which is still extremely young and in development, though to be fair I thought it tasted like a glass of beef, so this one could shape up to be a very interesting wine.  Then we tasted a bit of the 2015 Cima, which will be the next vintage releases of this super Tuscan style wine.  It was shaping up very nicely, and I am looking forward to tasting this wine when it's released.

Having enjoyed a wonderful couple hours with the folks at Reininger, it was off to Pepper Bridge for a tasting on the south side of town.  

Pepper Bridge is probably one of my favorite places to taste wine, as it's just a beautiful setting with gorgeous views of the vineyard, and to add to the ambiance, they recently remodeled their tasting room with wonderfully clean decor.

After tasting through a the wine club tasting flight, including the 2018 Trine, 2018 Merlot, 2017 Pepper Bridge Vineyard and 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon.  All of the wines were tasting wonderfully, and some have developed nicely since I reviewed them initially (including the 2017 Pepper Bridge Vineyard).  They also do a nice job customizing the tasting menu for wine club members, making you feel like an honored guest.

Although Jean Francois was not available today, winery founder and "founding father" of the Walla Walla wine industry, Norm McKibben stopped by to say hello to all of us in the tasting room.  He offered some nice perspective on the potential impact of the recent heatwave on the vineyards and the potential for the 2021 vintage.  He is always someone that's a pleasure to speak with, as he provides a great perspective on how nature can be fickle in the vineyard, just like any agricultural venture.  

Overall, it was a wonderful first day of wine tasting, followed by a wonderful dinner of Alder smoked duck with dirty rice, scallion and spring green kimchi and kalbi sauce at Hattaway's, a wonderful southern comfort food restaurant in Walla Walla.  Cheers!

2017 Vacation to Walla Walla Wine Country - The Last Day!

Well, my last full day in Walla Walla was sure busy, and although I wish I had one more day, this was still a fun filled and relaxing vacation (and my first vacation of the year too!).  My day started at 11:00 am for a lovely pairing menu at Seven Hills Winery.

Seven Hills Winery founder and winemaker Casey McClellan at the head
of the table as Danielle pours some Artz Vineyard Reserve Cabernet.

I have to thank Julie and Danielle at Seven Hills for arranging a wonderful tasting menu with the help of Chef Sarah of Sipid Bites Catering.  And the best part was that founder and winemaker, Casey McClellan was able to join us for a while and talk about his wines, the upcoming harvest and the recent vintages.

The wonderful line up of small bites and fantastic wines!

As for the pairings, we enjoyed the 2014 McClellan Estate Cabernet Sauvignon with a tartine with roasted tomato, whipped chevre and fresh basil.  Then a sauteed mushroom risotto cake with arugula paired with the 2014 Seven Hills Vineyard Merlot (this was my favorite pairing by far!), followed by a Panamanian grass-fed beef empanada paired with the 2014 Pentad and finally a lamb ragu polenta with Romano and fresh herbs paired with the 2014 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon from the Artz vineyard which was drinking beautifully!

Barrel tasting the 2015 Summit View Cabernet Sauvignon.

Then we were off to the barrel room to taste the 2015 Summit View Cabernet that will be released this fall, and it was fantastic with a very limited production.  We also had the chance to see the new catwalks that were recently installed which should make punch downs so much easier this year.

The recently remodeled tasting room at Rotie Cellars in Walla Walla.

Next I was off to Rotie Cellars for a tasting of their wonderful Rhone style blends.  We tasted through the whites and rose, then the Northern blend and Southern blend, all of which were very well done, old world style blends.  Ultimately I settled on a bottle of the 2013 Homage to bring home with me.

Pepper Bridge winemaker Jean-Francois Pellet in the library room.

Then I was off to my last stop of the day, down to Pepper Bridge Vineyards for a tasting with Jean-Francois Pellet, partner and winemaker.  After the winemaker dinner at Ox & Cart the night before, JF invited us to do tour and tasting with him.

The barrel room at Pepper Bridge Winery.

We toured the facilities and library as well as the barrel room which was very impressive.  There were five of us on the tour, so I spent most of my time taking it all in!  We tasted through the 2014 Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, as well as the 2013 and 2014 Trine, all of which were delicious.

The view as we relaxed on the deck at Pepper Bridge, I can't imagine a
more pleasant way to spend an afternoon!

At the end of the tour, we went out on the deck overlooking the vineyard and the Blue Mountains and JF opened a bottle of Seven Hills Rose (back to where I started the day!) which was interesting as I thought it really spoke to the sense of community in Walla Walla.  After the rose, we had a chance to open a bottle of 2005 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon which was spectacular!  I couldn't think of a better way to end an afternoon of tasting than in that perfect environment.

Dinner on the patio at Passatempo, wonderful pasta!

II ended the day with dinner at Passatempo, a new (well new since my last visit in 2015) pasta restaurant in the old Pastime Pub in Walla Walla.  It's a lovely environment as I enjoyed an al fresco dinner on the patio, including a lovely beet salad and pesto bucatini.  It was definitely well worth it!  And alas my wonderful Walla Walla Wine Country vacation came to a close as I type this before heading to the airport.  I just need to make sure it's not another two years before I return!

2017 Vacation to Walla Walla Wine Country - Day 3

Well my third day of vacation presented the opportunity to accomplish some of the things I failed to get to the day before.  I started the day going back out to the west side to visit the two wineries that started may affinity for Walla Walla nearly two decades ago.

The school bell that you can ring at the entrance to L'Ecole No. 41.

My first stop was to the old school house on U.S. 12, the home of L'Ecole No. 41.  I had the chance to meet with Jaime, the wine club manager (though I''m not sure what her current title is), and she's always a pleasure to spend time with.  We had a nice conversation over some wonderful 2014 Perigee and 2014 Ferguson as well as the new vintage of Candy Mountain red wine, all wonderfully delicious!

The Woodward Canyon Tasting Room.

Next it was off to Woodward Canyon which it right next door.  I felt bad as I'd met Cory, the tasting room manager at the pre-harvest dinner a few nights before and said I'd visit the next day but I failed!  So I made up for it as we tasted through some wonderful wines, including the 2010 Estate Reserve, a classic Bordeaux style blend of Merlot, Petite Verdot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon.  Now the 2010 and 2011 vintages were very cool, and although they were somewhat disappointing when younger, they are really starting to shine now.

The Maison Bleue tasting room in Walla Walla.

After Woodward Canyon, I went back downtown where I first stopped at Maison Bleue where I tasted through some of their wonderful Rhone blends.  They have one of the most beautifully decorated tasting rooms in Walla Walla, and Cynthia handles the tastings so well.  I am not a huge Pinot Noir fan, but I have to admit I thoroughly enjoyed their new Pinot under the J. Meuret label.

The newly re-branded Bledsoe Family Winery tasting room.

Next I stopped at Graze for lunch and then to the Bledsoe Family Winery tasting room.  Bledsoe has undergone some changes recently as they established the Bledsoe Family Wines label to be a somewhat more approachable family of wines while retaining the Doubleback label positioned at the premium end.

Photo of the "Cadaretta" in the Cadaretta Winery tasting room.

After Bledsoe, I went across the tracks to visit Cadaretta to taste some wonderful Cabernet Sauvignon and blends.  They have also gone through some changes as they sold the Buried Cane and their other secondary labels.

The DaMa tasting room on Main Street, be sure to taste the Tempranillo!

I went to the DaMa Wines tasting room next, which is always a pleasure.  I was fortunate that Mary, the proprietor and winemaker was there, so I had a chance to chat with her a bit and taste some of the new 2014 vintage Cabernet Sauvignon which will be released this fall (and I'm really looking forward to that release!).

Pepper Bridge Winemaker Jean-Francois Pellet and Ox & Cart Executive Chef
Jacob Crenshaw provided for a wonderfully tasteful evening.

I ended my day at the Ox & Cart for a winemaker dinner featuring Jean Francois Pellet, the partner and winemaker at Pepper Bridge.  He's been doing this since 1999, and interestingly enough I remember having dinner with a good friend and mentor when I lived in Seattle in 2003 and he brought a bottle of JF's first vintage of Cabernet Sauvignon to dinner!

Caramelized Wagyu beef, chanterelle mushrooms and butter braised potato puree
paired with 2014 Pepper Bridge Winery Trine.

Ox & Cart is a wonderful farm-to-table restaurant in Walla Walla that exemplifies the wonderful array of produce available throughout the Walla Walla Valley.  We had a wonderful four course dinner with pairings at each course, but by far may favorite was the caramelized Wagyu beef with chanterelle mushrooms and butter braised potato puree paired with 2014 Pepper Bridge Winery Trine.  Of course we were invited to come out to Pepper Bridge for a tasting, but you'll have to wait for a future post to hear about that!

2017 Vacation to Walla Walla Wine Country - Day 1

What a day to start a vacation!  First, I think I must have been drinking too much wine when I booked my flight out as somehow I must have thought leaving from O'Hare at 6:00 am was a good idea.  Then before I even left my vacation almost came to a tragic end.  At 3:20 am I was loading luggage into the truck when a big black and white skunk comes walking out from under the steps!  Thankfully it wasn't as startled as I was, so it didn't spray as that would have ended my vacation before it began.

Flying over the wheat fields in Walla Walla reminded me of an impressionist landscape!

So I made it to Seattle where I connected to an Alaska/Horizon flight to Walla Walla, passinf over the wheat fields that looked like an impressionist landscape and finally I arrived!  I took an Uber to the Holiday Inn Express (I'm not a wine industry professional, but I did stay at...those jokes will never get old). Once I got settled in I walked into downtown Walla Walla and my first stop was Seven Hills where I had a lovely tasting with Julie Titus and the gang there.

The tasting room at Seven Hills Winery.

Then I was off to Mark Ryan's tasting room on Main Street, which was a very fun time with some absolutely wonderful red blends.  The Lost Soul Syrah was a particularly wonderful wine that I missed in my wine club shipment, but made of for it by ordering a few bottles.  Tuesdays are somewhat quiet days in the tasting rooms, so I then went off to Olive for a nice salad as a late lunch.

The wonderful tasting room at Mark Ryan Winery in Walla Walla

After a hot day of more than 20,000 steps, it was time for the evening festivities, and I can't thank Julie Titus at Seven Hills enough for inviting me to an industry pre-harvest dinner at Tranche Cellars that was sponsored by the Walla Walla Wine Alliance.

A view of the Blue Mountains beyond the vineyard at Tranche Cellars

The setting was absolutely stunning, right in the midst of the vineyard with views of the Blue Mountains in the background.  The event was really a fun sort of wine potluck, where all the various wineries sent folks with bottles of their wonderful wines and everyone could try a number of different wines of their peers.

A fantastic venue for a wonderful industry event at Tranche Cellars

With food catered by Andrae's Kitchen it was a wonderful event with delicious wine and food, but my only problem was that it was so hot and after walking all day I just could not stop sweating!  I'm sure I was a fright to behold, but it was still an excellent first day of my Walla Walla vacation!

Some of the many fine folks who work so hard to make Walla Walla wine so wonderful!