Discover Walla Walla

Flowers are being planted and cases of new wines are being opened. The temperatures are rising and Spring Release Weekend in Walla Walla, May 4 through May 6, is here.

Every first weekend of May the wineries in the Walla Walla Valley bring out their new releases. It's an opportunity to celebrate the glorious new season and to showcase their newest vintages by opening their cellars and tasting rooms.

During the Spring Release Weekend, visitors to the wineries are often treated to many special events including: music, art, food and wine pairings as well as parties for various winery club members.

Even the toughest of men act like giddy lil' school girls at the thought of what new wine releases awaits them at their favorite wineries. But, how does one maintain their sober composure with so many wines to choose from?

Spit and dump. Seriously. It's what the professional wine drinkers must do when they are at various trade shows and wine seminars and even some of us who are called upon to judge at competitions. So your excuse is that you are not a wine professional ...

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It is a large part of my bloodline to take on the "hunt" - the occasional gathering of treasures such as the collectibles I enjoy in my home. I have a couple of aunts who used to be in the antique business and even my father sometimes brought home "treasures" that he traded. My list of treasure hunting is broad such as furniture, depression glassware, copper kitchenware, old suitcases, and the occasional doily or retro night stand linen. Wine was added to that list over 15 years ago.

There are motives for many wine touring lists. A habit of many a wine tourist is to stop at the larger wineries - good plan, especially if you make one of them your first stop of the day. Their beautiful surroundings will definitely get you in the "wine country" mood. Sometimes the tourist is making a list of stops driven by only the scores from wine magazines. I have actually heard some wine aficionados comment they will only stop if the winery has magazine scores of 95 and above.

Boo-hoo! They have just missed out on some treasures.

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This is the time of year when the vineyards in the Walla Walla Valley are beginning to take on veraison - the onset of ripening for the grapes. Crush will be starting at the wineries soon and the sweet smell of grapes will fill the air along with the smoky leaves of autumn. This is truly my favorite time of the year in our valley. This is the time of the year when I am often reminded of how our little valley took such a prominent place in the Washington State wine industry.

Leonetti Cellar is one of our longer standing wineries in Washington State and especially of Walla Walla. It is known as the winery that "started it all" - meaning it was one of the earliest wineries producing limited wines that lovers and critics started to take notice of in the Walla Walla Valley. Something tells me that Gary Figgins, winemaker and creator of Leonetti, just didn't wake up one day and say, "I am going to become a 'cult' winemaker." It was probably the furthest thing from his mind.

Once upon a time ...

It started when Gary was a young father and in the army reserves. While in the reserves, he made treks to Northern California, and side trips to the wine country. But most of all, he was influenced by his maternal-grandparents who settled in the Walla Walla valley from Italy in 1905. As many European families did, they brought their wine making craft to America.

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Solstice, June 21, officially marks that summer is here! Aside from our share of rain, which can only make those Walla Walla Sweet Onions sweeter, summer means slow moving days of outdoor entertaining and lots of what I call, "porch sippin'."

So what is this "porch sippin'?" Walla Walla is known for its hot days and I am such a wimp when it comes to any degree that is over 80. Walla Walla can get up to the high 90's and over 100 degrees, but thank goodness there is deliverance from the inferno, so to speak.

There is nothing in the world like the cool summer evenings in the Walla Walla Valley and for me the evenings seem to make up for those scorching days. It seems to be the time when we come out of our homes and take in the cool breeze and watch the magical shades of red, purple and peach colors in the sky as the sun slowly melts into the earth. We are also blessed with long days of sunlight, which is one of the reasons why the wine grapes in our valley seem to thrive.

Porch sippin' can mean an evening with friends and neighbors or some quiet relaxation alone. The deck on the side of my house is laced with old collectible pots of colorful summer flowers and below the deck it is lined with rose bushes. I often sit in one of the outdoor rocking chairs and rock away aimlessly while waving to neighbors who are out for their evening walk. Now this is the time for a glass of wine.

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In the 1920's when Ernest Hemingway penned out his observations of the cafes, bars, and hotels of Paris in his memoirs of A Moveable Feast, he certainly didn't have Walla Walla in mind. However, since 2008, the second Saturday of April, Walla Walla has been bringing their own celebration of fine food, wine, art and even live music to downtown. Residents and visitors gather at Main Street in a very large and moveable white tent that spans from the First Avenue crosswalk to almost the Alder Street crosswalk.

The gigantic white tent begins to take shape Friday evening and by Saturday morning, it can pack up to 600 people and several food and wine purveyors. The excitement begins at the tent entrance when guests receive an etched wine glass commemorating the event, a souvenir plate to hold the "feast" from local food vendors and 10 tokens to be used towards food and wine.  Once inside the tent, with chandeliers hanging from the top, you tend to forget that you are in the middle of a street as you discover the smells and sights awaiting you for the afternoon.

Every year, if you go away hungry, it is your own fault as the menu is always so varied and oh-so delicious. This year was no different as there was something for everyone: sushi, hand-carved baron of beef, traditional cassoulet, spinach salad, hazelnut cappelletti, vegetarian pad thai, green curry halibut, and pork tacos, to name a few.  For those with a sweet tooth, that was covered as well, with a decadent selection of chocolate truffles, fruit tartlets, cupcakes and even the quirky, but mouth watering, bacon caramel popcorn and chocolate beef ribs.

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Since I was a youngster I have always had a fascination with Valentine cards. It may explain why even today I collect, and always drawn to, the old red and pink ephemera at flea markets and antique stores. These old Valentines, with handwritten notes of faded ink, have often left me wondering about their journey and romantic stories. I am also fascinated with the labels on bottles of wine.

Every bottle of wine in the Walla Walla Valley tells a story. Also, wine labels are important sources of information for consumers describing the type and origin of the wine in the bottle. Sometimes the label is often the only resource a buyer has for evaluating the wine before purchasing it. Certain information must be included on the wine label, such as origin, type, producer, alcohol percentage and standard government warnings. But all of that information aside, it is the logo of the winery that is the most eye-catching.

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If you are a newbie to wine and want to know what barrel tasting all about - - no, it is not about licking the barrel to find out how it tastes. Barrel tasting is a special event where wine barrels are opened and the wine is sampled before the actual bottling of the wine takes place. Often the wines are still young, but barrel tasting allows wine enthusiasts the opportunity to taste and learn about future releases before buying.

There are also tools and other terms that goes along with tasting from the barrels such as "thief" and "angel's share."

No-no-no, a wine thief isn't a guy that sneaks into the winery and steals wine. A wine thief is a glass or a food-grade plastic tube,12 to 24 inches in length, and is used to siphon wine out of a barrel. Once the wine is removed by the thief, it is poured into another container such as a wine glass. The thief is used especially during barrel tasting events.

So, you may be wondering about the "angel's share" and if angels hang out with the wine thieves (If this were the case, there sure would be a lot of wine being pilfered by thieves and angels). The "Angel's Share" is an old term for the portion (share) of wine or spirits that is lost due to evaporation while aging in the barrels. Over time, some of the wine can slowly seep through the grain of the barrel staves and evaporate into the open air. The annual estimated loss can be around 2% per barrel. This loss of evaporating wine alludes to the belief that guardian angels watch over the wine as it ages and if you have ever been in a wine cellar the belief is also that you can actually smell the fragrant "angels."

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Thanksgiving is around the corner and isn't it interesting that when asked what our favorite part of the dinner is, we don't always mention the turkey. Often our favorites are the ‘taters and gravy, dressing, Aunt Bessie's canned green bean casserole and most of all, the pie. Of course, I'm going to tell you that the favorite part of the meal should be the wine - and several choices, of course. It is Thanksgiving, after all and isn't this American holiday about giving thanks to our bountiful harvest?

The Walla Walla Valley just finished up a long and unpredictable crush as well as their Fall Release Weekend. Now that the crowds have thinned a bit, it's a great time to seek out some treasures to go with your Thanksgiving dinner. Check out the new releases from the area's wineries, but don't forget the older vintages as well. The older vintages will often gain complexity and tannic red wines will mellow and soften with age.

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Do you remember back in school when the first essay of the new year in English Comp was themed, "How I Spent My Summer Vacation?" For me, 2010 was the first summer I have had off in over 12 years and also one of the first where I didn't travel too far from the area.

It was a summer of taking in many local events, as well as working a wine bottling line, attending winemaker dinners featuring the skills of our local chef's and their favorite food and wine pairings. I took in a geology "terroir" tour, went out wine tasting and even hung with my siblings at our tri-annual family reunion camp-out. The Summer of 2010 will be marked as one of the most memorable events for me as 200 of my wine blogging peers arrived in Walla Walla. Finally, my blogging buds now understand what I have been blogging about now for years - Walla Walla.

I even took in non-wine events, such as the hometown Walla Walla Sweets baseball games (a fine example of why baseball is one of America's favorite pastimes) and an evening of Shakespeare Uncork'd at the Fort Walla Walla Amphitheater. Uncork'd was an evening of an adapted classic, but with fresh air and a view of the stars. Even if wine isn't your forte, there is still plenty to do in the Walla Walla Valley. If you want to see my "feathers ruffled" all I have to hear is the phrase, "There is nothing to do in Walla Walla" and I will figuratively stomp of the perp's tiny little head.

Summer is now just a memory, but the autumn crush is here. Wineries around the valley have prepared their cellars for their annual harvest. The year 2010 will go down in Eastern Washington vineyard history as one of the coolest years since the crush of 1999 - meaning a late start for many of the wineries. However, last week many of the area wineries were finally able to start bringing in their fruit such as Amavi, Gramercy Cellars, L'Ecole #41, Long Shadows, Three Rivers, and Woodward Canyon to name a few. The word on the street, I mean the word in the vineyard is "The 2010 vintage will either be the best or the worst in Washington State history." All bets are on it will be one of the best. Cheers!

 

 

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Recently I visited the estate vines of Three Rivers Winery and Tertulia Cellars, here in the Walla Walla Valley.   And as like the theatre master exclaims, "The stage is set" - - indeed the stage is set in the vineyards awaiting veraison and later the fall harvest.

The fruit has been set amongst the vines of the Walla Walla Valley. Many of the vines show a uniformed fruit zone of little green grape berries that are hard to the touch. These typically low-yielding vines will eventually produce clusters of purple and gold berries showing intense concentration of flavors. But for now, these little green berries have very little sugar and are high in organic acids.

Being out in these vineyards is a reminder to me that summer is almost over and autumn is on its way. The fall season in the Walla Walla Valley is my favorite time of year. Don't get me wrong, as there are things about the summers in Walla Walla that I love, as well.  Summers mean to me the harvest of Walla Walla Sweet Onions, fresh berries and stone fruit and other freshly picked produce. While the high temperatures throughout the days can be difficult for me, it's the summer evenings that I tend to live for. They are cool with a light warm breeze leaving reminders of the earlier heat.  It is these warm days and cool nights of the area that also help retain the balance of acid and sugar levels in the wine grapes that overall give Washington wines their distinct characteristic balance in flavors.  The evenings are perfect for porch sitting while enjoying a glass of a chilled Walla Walla white wine or rosé.

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