Discover Walla Walla

As jazz legend Billie Holiday use to sing, "Summertime and the livin' is easy..." Well, summertime in Walla Walla, with our long days, cool nights, locally grown produce and world class wines,  the livin' is definitely easy.

In the summer it is all about the BBQ.  We grill up everything from burgers, salmon, ribs and even vegetables, but which Walla Walla wines pair with what? In California, it's almost cliché when suggested that the go-to-BBQ-wine pairing is Zinfandel, but Walla Walla produced Zinfandel is far from cliché.  This limited luxury, can be found at Forgeron Cellars and Trio Vintners.  And listen up wine-peeps, we're not talking about the pink stuff here. We're talking about the red - the traditional Zinfandel. 

Zinfandel has a natural affinity to barbecued foods with its characteristics of dark juicy fruits and spices.  And think beyond the wine in the glass.  Add a touch (or two or three touches) to your favorite BBQ sauce recipe.

You may think when wine pairing with grilled salmon, it's all about white wines.  Not so.  Cedar-planked salmon with a Merlot reduction sauce is really livin' easy and of course, using the same wine, pair that upstream swimming protein with a glass of Walla Walla Merlot.  The Merlot's from Five Star Cellars, Mannina Cellars and Skylite Cellars are stunning, besides showing all of the components of the rich and earthy Walla Walla fruit.  And consider these Merlots for pairing with roasted and grilled vegetables.  The smoky and caramelized flavors of the grilled veggies compliment full-bodied reds. 

The warm Walla Walla sun also leans us towards those salad days of summer.  Chilled white blends, such as "Bliss" from Adamant Cellars, "Calico White" from Bergevin Lane and "Gossamer" from Kontos Cellars will enhance the fresh green salad experience,  especially with the addition of grilled and aromatic herbed chicken or seafood. 

And last, but not least, here in Walla Walla we are all about our sweet little prized garden globe, known as the Walla Walla Sweet Onion.  If you're a Walla Walla native, you've had these onions just about every way from savory Sweet Walla Walla Onion cheesecake to eating them raw and sliced in-between two pieces of buttered bread.  A grilled and caramelized sweet onion does indeed have a wine pairing. Rieslings from Three Rivers Winery, Trust Cellars (even Trust Cellar's Cabernet Franc rosé  ), and Walla Walla Village Winery  are all about the "O" -  onion ring. 

So grab your favorite wine glass, nestle in a swinging hammock and relax with a glass of wine produced in Walla Walla.  Because like the rest of that old Gershwin lullaby suggests "...the livin' is easy. Your daddy's rich. And your mama's good looking."