Big Red and I recently toured Walla Walla. He has never been and given that I adore the place it seemed like the right thing to do. We landed at the airport and there was one taxi. One! Hey, Walla Walla, how ’bout more cabs around when flights arrive? Despite the shortage, we snagged the lone taxi and took off to our hotel.

We stayed on the cheap at the Best Western, which was in a good location, easily walkable to downtown. Dinner that night was at Whitehouse Crawford. The food was weird but tasty, and the atmo was fabulous. Imagine a mix between a candlelit farmhouse in France and a house in Santa Fe . . . well lit, unpretentious, sounds of laughter, open kitchen. Loved it.

Day 2 started with breakfast at the Maple Counter. Good, not great…a bit bland if you ask me. But if you imbibed too much the night before this is your place because the portions are ginourmous. Then we were off to taste wine.

Stop 1: Walla Walla Vintners: Call me a sucker for old men and big red wines but this place warms my heart. Al, the tasting room manager, is an old coot (that’s him in the photo).  And Myles Anderson, one of the winemakers, got a big laugh when I observed that one of the wines had an “aftertaste” of root beer. He gently informed me that the proper way to refer to an “aftertaste” is to use the term “finish.” Then he agreed that he could taste a bit of sarsaparilla. Walked out with a few bottles of the Cana Cabernet and Sangiovese. They were both wows!

Stop 2: K Vintners: Ok, I know this place is supposed to be the coolest thing ever. My Seattle peeps have stories about running into winemaker Charles Smith and spending the afternoon with him swilling wine. Sounds like fun, but I have yet to spot the guy. Instead of Charles we had some black clad, bored woman with a vague European accent telling us how great the wines were and which wine won what award. Really, I didn’t care. Most of the wines pushed my palate to places it didn’t want to go. But Big Red did pick up a bottle of the Viogner (can’t tell if he truly dug the wine or the Euro girl).

Stop 3: Starting to get hazy, but I believe it was Gramercy Cellars. The place has no sign so you know it must be cool. And in fact it is. Small, intimate and the guy behind the counter was super friendly despite all the intimidating tats. The wines seemed a little less fruity, more tannic and really good. They are meant to be paired with food. Walked away with a bottle of Tempranillo and I can’t wait to try it with some grilled lamb.

Stop 4: Kerloo Cellars:  Ryan, the winemaker, is part of the show. The man speaks as if he is channeling Vanilla Ice and is passionate about his wine. He poured some great Grenaches and Tempranillos and I left with a few bottles of Syrah. I love this place . . . it’s comfy, Ryan is a riot and the wine flows.

Dinner that night at Saffron was inconsistent (mine was fab, but Big Red’s lamb was tough as nails). I am hoping it was an aberration because usually the food there is flawless. I must confess that by dinnertime we were wined out and drank beer with our meal.

We headed home the next day and Alaska Airlines let us each check one case of wine – free! So don’t hesitate . . . get yourself to Walla Walla as soon as possible! There are some interesting characters, yummy restaurants and absolutely divine wines. And if you have been recently, please give us some intel. Where did you go wine tasting? What did you think? Any restaurant recos? Share your Walla Walla love with the tribe.

Spread the love