Anne and I continued our tour of the Northwest this past weekend and headed out to Walla Walla, WA. For those not familiar Walla Walla is known for it’s fertile land that is perfect for vineyards. I was told at one wine tasting location that Walla Walla stands for “Many Rivers.” We stayed at the Marcus Whitman hotel which was right downtown. It was a fantastic hotel with a king size bed, plush furniture, and most importantly – pet friendly.
For the first day we decided to hit up a few of the wine tasting rooms downtown. There are literally 20 rooms within walking distance of the Marcus Whitman hotel. After eating a Sweet Basil Pizzeria we headed over to Walla Walla Wine Works which showcased a number of different wines from the parent company. Lindsey and Cierra were our servers and were local to Walla Walla for at least 10 years. Here we learned a little gossip about the town (like the very uncommon murders that happened a few years ago) as well as the meaning of Walla Walla.
Next on our stop was the Spring Valley Winery which is were we met our friends from Portland. We tasted their line of wines and were delighted that they were serving some of their previous, more notable versions of some of their wines. Spring Valley is unique to many other wineries in that they harvest their own grapes and have a full turn key operation. You could see photos of their farm as well as many pictures of family members which helped shape the company and history. Their wines were very bold and flavorful, however as newbie wine drinkers we tend to gravitate to more smooth flavors.
Our final tasting room stop of the day was at Otis Kenyon which was located downtown as well. The story behind the company is very interesting which involves arson, dentistry, and lying spouses. The history is literally written on the bottle. You will have to go to the winery to get all the details which I think is part of the fun of wine tasting. Since I love free alcohol it was impossible for me to spit out the wines and as a result my taste buds were pretty numb by now. It was also at this point where Anne got a little giddy, which is always fun to be around. From what I remember we enjoyed their wines and we ended up purchasing the 2006 Malbec which was originally only available to their wine club members.
After resting and eating dinner we ended up meeting our friends from Portland Aaron and Aileen. We ended up going to the Green Lantern which I got confused with the Green Goblin during the day. It was a sports bar type of place which was frequented by younger people – perhaps still in college. We were very fortunate that both Aaron and Aileen had a sense of humor that could tolerate and even laugh at my jokes. After a couple of drinks we headed home after the long day.
Sunday 8/30/09
The next morning we ate a complimentary breakfast at Marcus Whitman which I can say really topped off our stay at the hotel. It was a buffet style meal, but they served real eggs, sausage, and sweet cinnamon rolls. Normally other hotels would charge $8 – $12 for this per person, but it was included in the cost of our hotel. We decided to hit up a couple wineries on our way out, but this time Anne and I decided to split a tasting glass. These wineries were a few miles from town, on a couple acres of land, and more spread out. From what we could tell most of the buildings were new and very inviting.
The first winery we went to Sunday was Reininger which in our opinion had the best tasting wines. We tasted a full assortment from white to red wines of both their Reininger and Helix brands and were impressed with all options. We tend not to enjoy Merlots but found we enjoyed their version. All wines were smooth and decided to buy a bottle from them. We went with the Helix Promatia which was not our absolute favorite, but for about $20 it was the best value. Our favorite was probably the 2005 Reininger Cabernet Sauvignon but it was a bit more expensive. I should have taken notes because, again, their entire line was a joy to drink. You cannot go wrong with this winery.
Our final stop was again with the Walla Walla Wine Works winery but at stand alone location. At this location they focused on their Waterbrook and Browne brand of wines which we also enjoyed. The Browne 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon was our favorite here, but unfortunately it was a $50 bottle of wine. What we liked most about this location was the building and atmosphere. This location has a large outdoor seating area with a very cosy looking fireplace. The interior was a warm modern style with clean lines and lots of wood. They also had a kitchen in-house with a line of $6 dishes that really made us wish we lived in Walla Walla. You can’t miss this building as it’s one of the first wineries you see on the way in to town from Highway 12.
Overall, we had an incredible experience at Walla Walla and would recommend the short drive there to anyone in Portland, Seattle, or Spokane. We will definitely go back and experience new wines as well as try to run into the great people we met while there. Oh, I also forgot to mention that we went to a local retail store called Willow which has some incredible artwork inside, as well as a friendly owner, and great selection of products.. For my friends out in Charlotte think of Paper Skyscraper but with local artwork. The metal tree by Douglas Gisi absolutely blew me away.
September 3, 2009 at 6:03 pm
Dude, you have WAY to much time on your hands!
Looks like your having fun though. Keep it up!