Walla Walla: Great Place to Visit, Great Wines

Last month I spent four days in the Walla Walla Valley, reconnecting with old friends at established wineries and scouting out a handful of newer ones. Along the way, I did plenty of “power tasting” while critiquing the estimated 100-plus wines I sampled.

As the old saying goes, it’s a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it.

There are several reasons why the Walla Walla Appellation is one of my favorites. Yes, it’s a lengthy six-hour drive from Bellingham. But with approximately 140 wineries at your disposal, setting up a daily tasting itinerary is a breeze. That’s nearly 20-percent of the state’s total, and virtually all are within a 20-minute drive of downtown.

Then there’s the downtown area itself; a cluster of several older, beautifully restored buildings, good restaurants (try the Berkshire pork chop at T. Maccarone’s), and a number of tasting rooms within walking distance of the historic Marcus Whitman hotel.

Friendly wine industry people also make Walla Walla a great place to visit. Although the city population is slightly over 30,000 it has the feel of a smaller, close-knit community where you’re constantly running into acquaintances.

For example, while dining at the outside seating at Brasserie Four restaurant, Saviah Cellars assistant winemaker Tyler Harlington unexpectedly dropped by and joined me for a glass of Woodward Canyon riesling. At the adjacent table was Seven Hills Winery founder/winemaker Casey McClellan and his wife, Vicky, so ordering a bottle of their merlot – which the restaurant just happened to carry – seemed like a natural choice.

If this all sounds a bit like a modern-day Mayberry RFD with first-class wines, I’d say you’d be on the right track.

Walla Walla-area wines tend to be a bit on the pricey side, with most reds running in the $25 to $40-a-bottle price range. During my whirlwind tour, I encountered about a 3 to 1 ratio of reds to whites at most tasting rooms. Although some wineries don’t produce any white wines, this appears to be slowly changing.

For instance, Russell Creek Winery now offers the tasty, melony 2010 White Wine Tributary ($14), a combination of sauvignon blanc and chardonnay, while Basel Cellars serves the 2011 Forget Me Not ($18), a zesty, semillon/sauvignon blanc blend with lemongrass flavors.

While cabernet and syrah are the norm among red wines, I noted a number of wineries now produce malbec, both as a stand-alone varietal and for blending purposes.

In the next few weeks I’ll feature more Walla Walla wineries along with several wine recommendations.