Walla Walla: 21 Reasons to Visit This Year

Last year, we asked celebrity wine reviewer Gary Vaynerchuk what he thought of Washington wines, and in his reply, he told us that Walla Walla, Washington was the most exciting thing happening to wine in the country. It’s true that Walla Walla has cultivated a reputation for wine, leading some to speculate that it’s quickly becoming the Napa Valley of Washington State, but could Walla Walla live up to its reputation? To find out, we headed deep into Walla Walla wine country, exploring like Lewis and Clark, but with teeth just a few shades more purple.

Walla Walla is not what you would expect from an agrarian community. The architecture alone is a huge surprise as you come driving in through the golden wheat fields, a time capsule of perfectly preserved brick and mortar reminiscing days gone by.

In 1805, the Lewis and Clark expedition trampled through the Northwestern edge of Walla Walla, and then came back through the heart of Walla Walla Valley on their way home. Fur traders established a thriving trading post there, and later, in 1836, Marcus and Narcissa Whitman traipsed up the Oregon Trail and established a mission among the Cayuse Indians, which lasted for eleven years before the Cayuse attacked the mission killing the Whitmans and others.

During the gold rush, Walla Walla became a vibrant urban center, establishing the first commercial bank in the

WINO Wine Tours: Whidbey Island

As with all of our reviews, opinions, quips and rants, they are of little consequence to you, the reader. What we are really trying to do here is encourage you to get out and experience these venues for yourself. Try the wines, meet those who make it possible, and take in the environment. Wine is not just about juice, it’s about tradition, friends, and natural processes. So, get out there. Take a trip, visit these places and expand thy palate. -The Publishers

Greenbank Farm
765 Wonn Road, Suite A201
Greenbank, WA 98253

In the 1930s, after a stint in the dairy business, Calvin Philips and family began berry farming on Whidbey Island, and by 1972 the Greenbank Farm became recognized as the largest loganberry farm in the US. Chateau Ste. Michelle bought it and opened a retail shop there for a while, but in 1995, they tried to sell the property for a large housing development. That didn’t sit right with the locals, so they rallied to save the farm, and turned it into what it is today: a living history farm and cultural community center.

WINO Wine Tours: Bainbridge Island & North Olympic Peninsula

As with all of our reviews, opinions, quips and rants, they are of little consequence to you, the reader. What we are really trying to do here is encourage you to get out and experience these venues for yourself. Try the wines, meet those who make it possible, and take in the environment. Wine is not just about juice, it’s about tradition, friends, and natural processes. So, get out there. Take a trip, visit these places and expand thy palate. -The Publishers

Bainbridge Island Vineyards & Winery
8989 East Day Road
Bainbridge Island, WA 98110

The uniqueness of Bainbridge Island Winery can not be understated. From the ferry ride across the Puget Sound to the old vintner who’s tended the vineyard for over three decades, you can’t help but feel as if you’re taking part in something special. Gerard and Jo Ann Bentryn, owners and operators of Bainbridge Island Wineries, are proud to be among some of the very first bonded wineries in Washington State. The wines are all made from estate fruit, something only a fraction of wineries today can claim. The wines are in the tradition of Northern European wines, Germany and Alsace, light and elegant, from non-traditional varieties such as Müller-Thurgau, Madeleine Angevine (Mad Ang), and one of my new favorites, Siegerrebe (pronounced zee-gah-RAY-beh). On a busy day of wine tourists, the tasting space can get a little cramped. Small price to pay for uniqueness in our book.

Winos Drinking Wine: Red Mountain & Prosser

As with all of our reviews, opinions, quips and rants, they are of little consequence to you, the reader. What we are really trying to do here is encourage you to get out and experience these venues for yourself. Try the wines, meet those who make it possible, and take in the environment. Wine is not just about juice, it’s about tradition, friends, and natural processes. So, get out there. Take a trip, visit these places and expand thy palate. -The Publishers

Airfield Estates Winery
560 Merlot Drive
Prosser, WA 99350

Stepping into Airfield’s tasting room in Prosser’s Vintner’s Village is like stepping into a hangar. Highceilinged and airy, there are huge windows framing the barrels in the business end of the winery. The floor is made from the staves of whiskey barrels, and their logo (an inexplicably chosen British bi-plane) hung proudly above the bar, behind which stood Mike Miller, the big-grinned grape grower and father of Marcus Miller, the winemaker. Mike insisted on pouring us their “Foot-Stomped Syrah Rosé” in spite of our objections, and it turned out to be really good with notes of strawberry, cherries and rhubarb. Yes, this wine is actually foot-stomped by “adventurous wine drinkers” at an annual Airfield event. I also had the first Chardonnay I’ve ever liked (hey, I’ve just never been a Chard fan), their 2007 Unoaked Chardonnay. The place is rich with history; it was originally a WWII airbase, and there are enlarged black-and-white group photos that include Mike as a little tyke back in the day. And, we were lucky enough to be there on a day they were doing a barrel tasting event. The place is a must-stop in Prosser.

Winos Drinking Wine: Chelan & North Central Washington

As with all of our reviews, opinions, quips and rants, they are of little consequence to you, the reader. What we are really trying to do here is encourage you to get out and experience these venues for yourself. Try the wines, meet those who make it possible, and take in the environment. Wine is not just about juice, it’s about tradition, friends, and natural processes. So, get out there. Take a trip, visit these places and expand thy palate. -The Publishers

Icicle Ridge Winery

Icicle Ridge has a tasting room downtown Leavenworth and a winery a few miles outside town in Peshastin. The tasting room downtown is a great space with a friendly staff, all of whom swear they work there because they genuinely love it. It’s a big space that can accommodate lots of people at once, and they allow you to choose 5 wines per tasting fee. The winery itself is an enormous log cabin with big breezy rooms and tables fit for Beowulf and his kin. There are pictures of the family, an open kitchen and you can order a glass of wine here and take it around the grounds, which are open to visitors. It really feels like you are in someone’s home, if that someone were eight feet tall and liked to kill antelope.

Winos Drinking Wine: Woodinville & Puget Sound

As with all of our reviews, opinions, quips and rants, they are of little consequence to you, the reader. What we are really trying to do here is encourage you to get out and experience these venues for yourself. Try the wines, meet those who make it possible, and take in the environment. Wine is not just about juice, it’s about tradition, friends, and natural processes. So, get out there. Take a trip, visit these places and expand thy palate. -The Publishers

William Church
$10 RTF

Our first pass through the Church was rough. Rod Balsley threw us out on our ears because we showed just as he was closing. The nerve! Our second pass was much more, shall we say, fruitful; we drank 100% more wine. The space was accommodating maybe a dozen other winos doing their thing in this acceptably sized space. There is nothing really out of the ordinary here except for the fact that the wine maker is on hand, something you don’t always get.