Discover Walla Walla

Meet the Willy Wonka of Walla Walla . . . Paul Jenes, a mild mannered version of Roald Dahl's famous classic candy character. Although the University of Washington grad does not possess the flamboyance of Mr. Wonka, his passion for making life much sweeter for the world, and particularly the Walla Walla Valley, is just as evident.

Jenes is the proud owner of Bright's Candies, which he transformed into an old-fashioned candy shop back in 2005 when he moved it to Main Street from its cubby-hole existence on 1^st Avenue. When you meander through the doors of Bright's, you step back in time - a pleasant step - into the full service candy store one used to find on every main street of an America gone-bye, replete with a popcorn machine, spilling out buttered, cheese and the coveted caramel corn, the long glass case of freshly made chocolates, ranging from turtles to peanut clusters to wine filled cordials, the colorful wall of jelly beans, the swirling lollipop table, and every child's favorite - the candy making room that resides in full view, enabling youngsters to stare through the window as Paul Jenes works his magic, creating chocolate wonders as the rivers of chocolate pour out of the machine.

Not to be overlooked is the ice cream counter with the traditional offerings of Rocky Road, Chocolate Chip and Bubble Gum flavors. Families sit on the patio, licking their cones or drinking their shakes in the early summer evenings. Where is Normal Rockwell? He'd paint this scene in a heartbeat.

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Meet Chuck Reininger, passionate winemaker and passionate outdoorsman. Born and raised in Bellevue, Wash., Reininger calls the Walla Walla Valley home mainly due to his love of the outdoors, the region's spectacular geography and rich history. The former mountain climbing guide says all of this passion is reflected in his wine. Hence, nearly every vintage of Reininger Winery has been made solely from Walla Walla Valley fruit.

"I am proud of the Valley. I am proud of the Northwest," says Reininger. His adoration for the area is seen not only in his wine, but also in the winery's tasting room. Basalt columns from a local farm, created by the great flood thousands of years ago, serve as the wine pouring counter top. A grapevine weave serves as the bar's exquisite façade, and local barrel staves form its columns. The spacious tasting room is highlighted by wooden plank flooring, salvaged from the old potato sheds that now house the winery and tasting room (see photos below).

Elements of the Walla Walla Valley and the Pacific Northwest are apparent everywhere at Reininger.

When Chuck Reininger is not plying his trade as a winemaker or chatting with tasting room guests, you'll find him skiing down the steep face of a snow laden mountain, backpacking up a challenging trail, or out on his bike gliding through the Valley's rolling hills of wheat and vineyards. His steely frame, tanned face and agile movements all reflect a man who has spent his life actively immersed in Mother Nature and recreational sports.

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To say that Nimal Amarasinghe, Executive Chef of the South Fork Grill, is far from home is a grand understatement. The likeable head of the kitchen is some 15,000 miles from his native country of Sri Lanka. Yes, the small former British colony in Southeast Asia is where Chef Nimal spent his childhood, swimming with his friends in the ocean and playing cricket with bats constructed of coconut tree remnants.

Studious and ambitious, Nimal became a computer programmer and set his sights on climbing the tech corporate ladder, the idea of being a chef never entering his mind. He earned a scholarship to study Japanese for a year in Tokyo, in preparation for upper management - Japan was the main computer client of Sri Lanka. But that's where the story takes its turn.

To earn money, Nimal worked in a restaurant kitchen on weekends and soon found himself enraptured by the art of cooking. The chef showed Nimal a few basics and when the young student caught on quickly, he began to be a part of the cooking operation. When his year of study was over, Nimal decided to forgo his computer career and become a chef. By this time, he had gained fulltime work in the kitchen which began a six-year culinary stint in Japan.

During that time, Nimal became schooled in French, Korean and Japanese cuisine, becoming a valued member of several restaurant kitchen staffs. Yet, his aspirations were to receive an actual degree in culinary arts and also to someday master the art of baking. Those desires brought him to South Seattle Community College to study at its respected culinary school. While in the Emerald City, Nimal worked under critically acclaimed chef Thierry Rautureau at Rovers. There, he learned the nuances of French cooking. Ascension in the Seattle culinary world followed along with marriage to a pastry class colleague.

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How would you like to drink the wine from the barrel you are sitting on? Sound impossible? Not in the eyes of Ian Crawford and Doug Gisi, co-owners of Vinoture, a thriving furniture company whose artistic and tasteful products are solely comprised of used wine barrels. As Crawford puts it, when sitting on a bar stool made by Vinoture, you are experiencing the full cycle of the Walla Walla wine process with all of the wood coming from local wineries. There is even a vintage Leonetti Cellar set - Walla Walla's most prestigious and first winery.

The ebullient Crawford and the soft spoken Gisi complement one another perfectly. Crawford exclaims, "I am the idea man. Doug is the engineer and artist. I also call him the ‘metal god,'" referring to Gisi's ability to transform barrel rings into sturdy furniture supports and artistic ornaments such as the silver orbs -- tasteful as indoor and outdoor decorations.

Sitting in the shop and listening to Crawford and Gisi talk, one senses an undeniable genuineness towards their "life's passion." Both are self-taught. Both took a tremendous chance on this endeavor, and both are obviously infatuated with the prospects of transforming wine barrels into sturdy, long lasting furniture.

Crawford, a native of Flathead Valley, Montana, was in the wedding planning business before launching into barrel furniture. After moving to Walla Walla in an effort to enhance his business, Crawford asked the talented Gisi to join him. Gisi whose day job was carpentry, accepted the offer. "Vinoture was a great business name," says the Walla Walla native. "It was a great concept, a great product, and great wood with wonderful patina - the possibilities are endless."

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What does accomplished winemaker, Eric Dunham, love most about producing wine? "It's as simple as guy loving to get dirty," he chuckles. It's the physical labor and feeling the fresh breeze against his skin and the sun upon his back that fulfills Dunham. He also enjoys the artistry of making wine and from Dunham Cellar's first release in '95, folks think highly of his artistry.

While sampling wine at Dunham Cellars tasting room - a 5,500 sq. foot renovated airplane hangar, Eric might pull up a chair and join you while you're at it. "To me", he says, "Wine is the ultimate barrier breaker. If you love wine, there is so much to talk about. People get excited talking about wine. Wine has sort of this mystique."

When visiting Dunham Cellars, it's not difficult to feel right at home. "Wine is all about taking care of people," Dunham says. "When people come into our tasting room, it's all about taking care of them." And the spacious and tastefully decorated room doesn't hurt the cause.

Paintings from local and regional artists adorn the walls, a comfortable leather couch arrangement beckons while wood stained table tops resting on wine barrels and surrounded by bar stools, also, provide a terrific landing place to chat and relax. The tasting room's size and spaciousness affords Dunham Cellars to host many special events, such as Dunham Days where wine club members are treated to the delicious cooking of Chef Andrae Bopp, a new art release, library tasting and a "can't miss" brunch. Dunham Cellars also hosts numerous winemaker dinners and the hugely popular Harvest Luncheons.

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Blues ruled the roost last Wednesday at the Walla Walla Community College Performing Arts Center as a near sellout crowd was treated to two top blues performers. Headliner, Matt Schofield, voted Blues Guitarist of the Year by the British Blues Society, more than lived up to his billing dazzling the crowd with his mastery of the guitar and his soulful and powerful voice.

The night opened with Blues Hall of Famer Jimmy Lloyd Rea and his band The Switchmasters. If you love conventional blues, then Jimmy Lloyd is your man. A member of John Lee Hooker's band for many years, Lloyd Rea revved up the crowd with his rendition of Hooker's "Big Legs and Tight Skirts." Rea is a local favorite who swings through Walla Walla often, hailing from Baker City, OR which is just 2 hours down the road.

It's fair to say that probably many in the crowd, including this author, were not very familiar with Mr. Schofield. By the end of the night, we were devoted fans. Not only did Schofield and his trio shower us with a rainbow of incredible sounds, making us feel as if we had been fans all of our lives, but he mesmerized us with his absolute mastery of his guitar and the pure soulfulness with which he played.

Schofield, a thin man, with even a thinner face, curly gold locks touching his shoulders, wearing a black t-shirt under his blue denim long sleeves, doesn't remind you of B.B. or Albert King, to say the least. Yet, during the two-set performance, his ability to groove, rock and swing - all within the framework of the Blues - makes him special, indeed.

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Viennese Romance, the third concert of the Walla Walla Symphony season, began with a bit of humor and a bunch of energy. After Maestro Yaacov Bergman did not enter on cue, the players pretended as if something were amiss. As the pause lingered, they shrugged their shoulders, raised their instruments and began playing without their conductor. Moments later, a startled Bergman scurried onto the stage and glared at them as if to say "how could you start without me?"

This planned confusion played well with the crowd, drawing chuckles and applause. As Bergman turned to the crowd with a sly smile on his face, he began exhorting them to clap along to "The Radetzky March" -- the night was off to an upbeat start. "Radetzky" is considered Johann Strauss's Sr.'s most famous piece and is performed every year at the closing of the Vienna Symphony's New Year's Eve concert. It is tradition that the crowd claps to the beat of the march, and Bergmann relished the role of miming instructions to the crowd regarding when to clap softly, loudly, and to halt. He would thunder his hand toward the audience when the clapping was to reach a crescendo.

By the end of the buoyant piece, Cordiner Hall, the home of the Walla Walla Symphony, was bursting with mirth.

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As the crowd hummed with excitement, moments before the wine colored curtain of Cordiner Hall lifted, it was strikingly apparent that this was not just another Symphony event in Walla Walla. The bi-annual production of the Nutcracker Suite by the Walla Walla Orchestra and the Eugene Ballet far transcends the parameters of a night at the symphony.

It is a night that is cherished by families throughout the community, for it is a Christmas tradition. At the Walla Walla Nutcracker performance, instead of limos arriving with well dressed couples, vans doors slide open as every member of the family from grandparents to great grandchildren spill out in their Sunday best. Groups of 8 or 10 enter together, with the little ones trying to scurry ahead in their excitement.

The Nutcracker Suite is a night for elders to savor the music and dance that has brightened their holiday season for a lifetime while relaying to their young descendants the first time they saw the Nutcracker. Little girls, some only three years old, romping in their holiday dresses, squirmed in their seats and asked a million questions about "what was this and what was that?"

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The band was rocking, the crowd was dancing, and the wine was flowing. Sapolil Cellars was vibrant and vibrating as Ce Ce James and her band rolled out the blues all night long.

The Seattle based songstress, voted recently as Best Blues Writer in the state of Washington, displayed her wide range, meandering back and forth between driving tunes and traditional numbers, alternating from aggressive vocals with a strong hint of Joplin to more melodious moments that fostered some slow dancing.

Dressed in all black, and twisting and jerking her body with every note, James doesn't short-change her audience on effort. Often there was interplay between her and the crowd as she roamed through the maze of circular tables, her interaction authentic, not choreographed like a Las Vegas performance.

The band was tight. Three guitars and a drummer supported Ce Ce. The lead guitarist (name unavailable) was the kind of guy I like: didn't upstage any vocals, his solos were inspired but controlled, and he could drive. Plus, he looked the part  . . . stringy long blond hair, a black cutoff shirt, the fu Manchu beard, a face that has seen many miles and a smattering of tattoos.

Sapolil doesn't possess a true dance floor, but the limited amount of space that does exist between the band and the tables served as one, as it was stuffed with folks shaking their groove thing. During James' cover of "Aint Superstitious" the amount of dancers was so plentiful that the crowd flowed into the spaces between the tables.

Walla Walla crowds are not renowned for spontaneous dancing but James and her band inspired them to buck the trend.

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Sitting midway up the grandstands, the open stage and the backdrop of trees and the Blue Mountains before me, a balmy day having turned into a comfortable night, I couldn't  imagine being in a better place at that moment than the Fort Walla Walla Amphitheater readying to see the Seattle Shakespeare Company's production of "Much Ado About Nothing."

It was the final performance of Shakespeare Uncork'd, a young annual event in its third year. Many of the patrons had consumed gumbo, salad, a tasty dessert and a glass of wine in preparation for taking in the classic comedy.

The Seattle Company decided that its adaptation of Shakespeare's romantic comedy would be set in the Louisiana Bayou. A rather sparse arrangement of a door sandwiched by two Victorian columns, two small white tents, a clothesline, several wicker chairs and a bench, sat in the center of the concrete stage.

The production began with a burst of energy that it would maintain throughout. The opening scene started with much of the cast singing the old Mardi gras anthem "Iko Iko" accompanied by an accordion and guitar.

Tonight's version of "Much Ado" stayed true to the plays original storyline, outside of references to the Bayou setting and modern interpretations of the old Bard's lines.  The success of "Much Ado" always seems to hinge on the performances of the two players portraying Benedict and Beatrice - Benedict the fast quipping independent and garrulous right hand man of Prince Don Pedro, and Beatrice, the quick tongued, stubborn and ,also, independent thinking daughter of Leonardo.

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