In this report
Time of year: July
Renowned as one of Washington State’s premier wine regions, Walla Walla boasts a unique combination of diverse grape varietals, passionate winemakers, and a landscape that effortlessly blends vineyards with stunning natural beauty. With over 120 wineries, this destination offers an unparalleled opportunity to indulge in the artistry of winemaking while immersing oneself in the charm of a vibrant, yet unassuming, wine country community.
Trip Plan
Logistics, Arrival and Walla Walla Wine Districts
We embarked on our journey to check out Walla Walla, Washington’s wine scene from Raleigh, North Carolina. We flew into Portland, Oregon instead of Seattle, Washington, because I also spent a week in Willamette Valley, Oregon to check out their wine scene and meet with some of my advisors and friends in the industry. After landing in Portland, we picked up a rental car and hit the road towards Walla Walla.
The drive from Portland to Walla Walla was picturesque and beautiful. We took the scenic route along the Columbia Gorge, which offered stunning views of the towering cliffs and the Columbia River. Along the way, we stopped for a hike along the Columbia Gorge Trail. The trail led us to beautiful waterfalls, and breathtaking viewpoints, like you see here in the image. It was a fantastic way to stretch our legs and immerse ourselves in the natural beauty of the area. We stayed the night at the Colombia Gorge Hotel and Spa, which allowed us to take advantage of the 3 hour time change so we could head out early for Walla Walla the next morning.
You will get the most out of your visit if you plan around the six wine districts of Walla Walla. It is a large region with some driving in between wineries. We planned our trip to go to the furthest winery from our accommodations first. Except for the first day, where we planned our trip to stop at the furthest away from downtown Walla Walla and work our way to our hotel for a 3:00pm check-in. Check for current days and times, many of the wineries are open by appointment, and some only on the weekends.
There are group tours and hired cars you can employ to drive you around, but we typically like to drive ourselves. I like to keep my options open. Since you can only do so much planning ahead of time, I always expect to learn something new which could adjust our plans. Or if I have the opportunity to engage with someone from the ownership or winemaking team, I want to allow enough time to make the most of the time they are gifting me. Keep in mind that you will be driving quite a bit, even if you are concentrating in one district for the day. We planned no more than four tastings per day, and often we try and share a tasting. I will always ask when we make our reservation if they allow us to share a tasting. I also often don’t always drink the wines, and take advantage of the spittoon and dump bucket. That is the reason we can do four tastings in a day. Tom (my husband) likes to just enjoy his tasting, while I like to work through the structure of the wines and take notes.
Day One – Oregon District
Wineries visited, Hotel, Dining
Our first winery stop was Rotie Cellars, which is on the Oregon side and part of the Oregon Wine District; one of six wine districts of Walla Walla. The drive took just under 3 hours and was absolutely stunning. The Oregon Wine District is very special. It produces almost half of the grapes for the district and is home to The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater, a sub AVA of Walla Walla which has a very rocky soil formed by an ancient river. Tom and I like to bring wines back home from our trips and have a set idea of how many will be possible before we leave based on suitcase choice, weight allowances, as well as baggage cost of the airlines (great if you have status and can get one or two “bags” checked for free) We have a debate on if a wine is “suitcase worthy” and keep track. Rotie provided us with our first two “suitcase worthy” wines, a Southern and Northern Rhone blend.
Many of the wineries in this district are not open to the public, and most require reservations. With a concentration of red and white wine varieties that will remind you of visiting France’s wine regions, including Bordeaux style blends, Rhone style blends, Grenache, Syrah, Roussanne and some really great Viognier, this is a great region to check out.
Our next stop was Water’s Winery off Pepper Bridge Road in The Southside District. Unfortunately, Water’s is now closed due to a death of one of the partners. Revelry Vintners was our third stop, where we had a great time identifying vintage differences between their Syrah’s.
As you drive from Oregon to Washington, you leave the Oregon District and enter The Southside District. Southside has one of the largest concentrations of wineries and tasting rooms, and wineries we wanted to try, so it was our most visited district during our trip. We therefore drove through Southside to get to our fourth stop.
A note on the Southside wineries; in addition to the Bordeaux and Rhone style blends of the Oregon District, Southside also has a wide array of reds including Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and of course Syrah. Chardonnay is also very prominent in this region for whites. Try some of the lesser known whites such as Semillon, Albarino and Rhone style blends.
Our fourth stop was to Gramercy Cellars. I have been a fan of Gramercy for a long time and typically will have a stock of their Walla Walla Syrah at home. I was looking forward to this visit so I could try some of their single vineyard Syrahs, as well as their Cabernet Sauvignon. I loved their Sangiovese and their Mouvedre. We ended up joining their club so I could add many of these wines not readily available in North Carolina to our cellar. We also starting conversations about a possible business arrangement for Touchpoint Wines being an ambassador for Gramercy for corporate gifting. Gramercy is officially located in the Westside, but is very close to downtown.
Gramercy is located in The Eastside District, but really close to downtown, and close to our first accommodation The Finch. Total drive time between our four wines stops is 30 minutes.
We liked the Finch for its location and cleanliness. The orange doors are the guest room entrances. Ample parking and only a few minutes walk to downtown. It was the least expensive of the three places we stayed.
After checking in taking a quick walk, we headed over to Valdemar Estates. We had a reservation for a tasting and food pairing as our dinner plans. We sat outside on the patio of this lovely tasting room. A great way to end a perfect first day in Walla Walla.
Day Two – Southside District
Wineries Visited, Fun Blending Experience and Restaurants
Our second day took us back to where we ended the night before. Across the street from Valedmar Estates is Alton Wines. Alton is a testament to why building relationships is so rewarding. A connection led me to another introduction, which led me to another, who told me about Alton Wines. Alton’s philosophy and winemaking style is for wines that are perfect for drinking upon release. They are all about celebrating life, hosting and entertaining. Their tasting room is lovely with both outside and inside spaces that make you want to linger. They are a small producer with really lovely wines. Tom and I are very glad to have been told about Alton and we are part of their Annual Share program, and last night, while I was making final tweaks on this blog, we had their Cabernet Franc which was delicious.
After Alton Wines, we went to another small producer I had been told to visit. Grosgrain Vineyards was positioned to me as “small, organic production with amazing winemaking.” We spent some time with the assistant winemaker who poured for us and was gracious enough to answer all of my questions. They also have Casa Grosgrain if you want to stay in the Southside region.
Northstar Winery’s Blending Experience is where we spent our next 2 hours. I had designed my Winemaker Blending Experience for Touchpoint Wines and was very interested to see how a winery provided the same type of experience. After a short walk outside where we learned a little about the types of grapes and philosophy of Northstar, we went into the cellar room to make our Merlot based blends. I loved how you were able to take the wines from large barrels for blending. After making your favorite blend you bottled it and designed a label.
Our last stop was Sleight Of Hand Cellars. This was really the perfect stop as the last stop of the day. With their laid-back tasting room and their décor of music related posters and paraphernalia along with great rock tunes, we had a really great time here. They have a lot of press on how the wines have really matured and are doing a great job of living up to their mission of “serious wines without serious attitudes”. Two of their Syrah’s were “suitcase worthy” and made the trip home with us. I’m happy to report they were as good as we thought they were!
That evening we went to dinner at Passatempo Taverna. I booked this restaurant based on recommendations of a woman I met who works for EY in Seattle, but grew up in Walla Walla. It was a great recommendation. She also told us to book reservations at Brasserie Four, which we liked so much we ate there twice.
Day three – sightseeing
New lodging, Breakfast and Taking In The Town
To start the day we took a walk around Walla Walla and commented on how much we expected it to grow and develop over the next decade. You can see how it’s trajectory is likely to follow what Napa was in the 80’s and Sonoma in the 90’s. You can see the development and we learned there is a lot of increased air traffic as investors from all over the world are looking into Walla Walla and the conditions that exist for making world renown wines.
We had breakfast at Bacon & Eggs. It typically has a que in the mornings, but moves fairly quickly. The food and service are great with both outside and inside dining.
Another recommendation I received while doing my research was for The Barn. We moved from the Finch to the Barn for a two night stay as a way to offer you suggestions on another option for lodging.
The Barn was by far our favorite lodging experience, mostly because it is designed to be an experience and not just a place to stay. The barn is a luxury B&B with lovely owners, Niana and Anand Rao, who come from long careers in the luxury hospitality space. The whole set up from the selection of pillow styles, the wine bottle and welcome card in the rooms, to the dining area, wrap around porch with tables, pool and bocci ball pit were exceptional.
Tom and I drank our wines from Northstar while playing bocci with some of the other guests. Niana and Anand belong to a golf club near the barn and, at least at the time we stayed there, could help you get access and tee times. They also have partnerships with some of the Southside Wineries for complimentary tastings. I would highly recommend you look into The Barn.
We checked out the golf course. Then before checking into The Barn, we did one winery visit to Rasa Vineyards. As a constant learner, I really liked Billo and Pinto’s story on how they discovered wine and built Rasa. I had watched a few webinar tastings led by Billo, and I also share his philosophy on wine being art and science, and crafting terroir specific wines. I also wanted to try wines from someone that is a Master of Wine- the highest recognition you can get in the wine industry. Their award winning wines are definitely worth checking out. We purchased a mixed case of their wines to have shipped to us in NC.
The rest of day three was shifting lodging, lounging by the pool, playing bocci ball and just enjoying a sense of place amid the vines.
Day 4 – Eastside and Airport District
Wineries
We combined the Eastside District and Airport District for our tastings. Prospice was our first stop which is located in the Airport District. This district is all about innovation. With a wine incubator program and co-op set up, it is a place where you find new start-ups and some special projects by more established wine makers. I had a lot of specific questions for the owners of Prospice and Jay was absolutely wonderful in giving of his time and thoughts. Jay is a lawyer and his partner is an architect. I wanted to hear their story of leaving more of a corporate life to pursue a life in wine. I also wanted to understand how they developed their relationships with grape growers and what a partnership looked like between winemakers and growers in order to produce artisanal wines. It was a lovely experience and they had some very good wines. I am very eager to return and see what new wines they are making and reconnect to learn more of their story.
Leonetti Cellar is one of the best stories of the valley. Gary Figgins is considered one of the founding fathers and has built an amazing legacy, along with his wife Nancy. Although there is a waiting list for Leonetti and you can’t visit a tasting room, you can taste wines made by the same winemaker, Chris Figgins. Chris is the second generation winemaker at Leonetti and has another winery called Figgins Winery. Figgins is located in the Eastside. Figgins offers Bordeaux style blends and was working on a vineyard of Riesling grapes at the time of our visit.
After Figgins we went to Walla Walla Vintners. This was one of the few we visited that was a larger winery for the area. For this trip, I set out to visit smaller wineries where I would have a better chance to visit with someone directly involved in the winemaking, who also had an ownership story that I wanted to learn more about.
Walla Walla Vintners has such a lovely outside patio and spaces to sit under the trees amidst their beautiful vineyards, that I didn’t want to miss that experience. We are lucky enough to get some of there wines here in North Carolina, which made me want to try more of their single varietal and smaller production wines that I cannot get directly in my home state. Two of their wines were deemed “suitcase worthy”. A Merlot, and I have to say, their Sangiovese was a standout of our trip, which luckily can be ordered online.
Another amazing property and tasting room I had learned of was Tranche, where we spent the remainder of our tasting time. Tranche had a great Syrah, but it was their Rhone style blends that led us to join their club for a year. Their deck is massive and such a great place to relax.
Day 5 – Downtown District
Another Hotel, Downtown Tastings, Dinner Choice
We moved from The Barn to the Marcus Whitman Hotel. As the more mainstream choice of hotels, we wanted to be able to offer you our thoughts. The hotel is elegant and historic. It is in the best location for walking around downtown and visiting any of the wine regions. It is on the westside of Walla Walla, while the Finch is on the East. It is about 6 blocks to walk from one to the other. The room was very comfortable and if you love the stately historic type of hotel, then you will love the Marcus Whitman.
Since it was another logistical move day, we planned to do our downtown tastings on day five. All along the main street of Walla Walla, you will find small tasting rooms, similar to a Healdsburg in Sonoma. Bleadsoe Family Winery is the most famous. The tasting room is beautiful and they offer two of my favorites, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc as well as a nice Viognier and of course the more signature grape of the region- Syrah.
We also visited TruthTeller, Seven Hills Winery, Browne Family Vineyards, and Elephant 7. We know we can get Seven Hills and Browne in NC, so we deemed a few from Elephant 7, who specialize in Rhone blends, to be our “suitcase worthy” choices with multiple vintages of single vineyard Syrah. When visiting this many tasting rooms, we found we only do a single tasting and share, and I mentioned before, I am not shy about asking for a spittoon and not swallowing during the tasting. I will often then sip the one I liked most so my alcohol consumption is less. There are a lot of tasting rooms along Main Street and we chose based on if they were open, how busy they were and if the vibe called to us. Let me know which are your favorites so I can try them next time I visit.
For dinner that night we went to Grandma’s Kitchen. We love Mexican food and when we saw the reviews we knew we would be visiting. It was an early dinner so it wasn’t busy when were we arrived and we had no issues getting a table with no reservations. It was very good and we were not disappointed. I would visit again when I am back in Walla Walla.
Day Six – Leaving
One More Winery, Heading To Willamette Valley, OR
Our final day in Walla Walla as we head back to Oregon and Willamette Valley. On the way we made one final winery stop in the Southside. Sulie Cellars was one of our favorites in terms of wine quality as well as really hitting it off with the owners. Elaine and Tanya are wonderful and Elaine is someone I know I can reach out to if I ever have questions about Walla Walla or winemaking. They recently opened a tasting room in Seattle, so you can check them out there as well. Tom and I belong to their wine club because they have some standout wines that are amazing value. Their Albarino is one of my favorite white wines. I also serve their Beet Red blend for parties because everyone loves it and I like to give my guests something you can’t get in NC.
There are so many ways to enjoy trying new wines and Walla Walla is one of the best. From the varieties offered- especially bolder reds, to the access you get to people involved in the business, to the beautiful and relaxing tasting rooms and very reasonable tasting fees, it makes Walla Walla a place not to be missed.
Please leave any comments and reach out if you have any questions as you plan your trip to Walla Walla.
