Over the past few weeks I’ve written about my experience traveling out of state to visit one of our favorite wine regions for a scaled-back version of our annual trek there to attend Fall Release events in Walla Walla, Washington (here, here and here). In this time of COVID, we undertook the trip with great caution and a bit of trepidation, for at the beginning of November infection rates were starting to rise. Here in the Pacific Northwest they are lower than in most other parts of the country, and we knew the wineries had undertaken many procedures to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience. And while we certainly benefited from the chance to travel outside our bubble and enjoy good food and wine, we could see how much it meant to those businesses we visited that they could serve us.

Our final day of tasting involved a slower pace and fewer stops than our jam-packed Friday but nevertheless proved interesting and enjoyable. We’d been wanting to visit Walla Walla Community College‘s Institute for Enology and Viticulture for a few years and finally did so on this trip. The Institute’s state-of-the-art commercial teaching winery, College Cellars, provides students the opportunity to learn every element of the industry, including marketing, winemaking, wine-related chemistry and viticulture. Under the supervision of instructors, students participate in the production of a number of wines from fruit from throughout the region as well as the program’s own vineyard.

We attended a tasting on a large open terrace and were presented with eight different wines including Sauvignon Blanc, Petit Verdot, Cab Sauv, a fizzy Rosé of Granache and even a tawny-style Barbera dessert wine. Our table was crowded with glasses, and each wine was briefly described on a tasting sheet which also contained a QR code for each vintage, allowing access on our phones to even more information about the wines. Our host was a first-year student in the program, and what he lacked in a polished presentation he more than made up for in enthusiasm for his studies. We enjoyed chatting with him and learning more about the Institute and his own journey to it. We were impressed with the variety of wines and found them to be well-made and reasonably priced. Our experience with winemakers who have graduated from this program and gone on to start their own wineries (such as Jay and Matt at Prospice Wines) provides proof of its success.

After our tasting we strolled across the parking lot to the college’s Wine Country Culinary Institute‘s food truck for a takeaway lunch. It offered a limited number of tempting, hearty options on this chilly November day, including a Rhône-style pot roast featuring Syrah-braised beef, whipped potatoes and coriander-honey glazed carrots, and a lobster bisque poutine. (Definitely a touch of gourmet here!) I opted for the lighter but wonderfully delicious blend of flavors and textures in the Autumn Bowl, heaped with spinach, lentils, quinoa, goat cheese, spiced walnuts, those glazed carrots and Brussels sprouts all topped with an apple walnut vinaigrette. We also bought the last rustic apple hand pie but found it large enough to handily satisfy us both.

Our final stop came late in the afternoon at Corliss Estates, an elegant winery that produces rich, beautifully balanced red wines, only releasing them five years from harvest. Tastings in the past in the enormous brick and wood building (a former flour mill) filled with art and antiques from the owners’ personal collections have always been crowded affairs with wonderful if limited hors d’oeuvres and generous pours of the current releases of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and the Corliss red blend. One usually also got a hint of the future in a barrel tasting of one of the preceding year’s wines.

This year we entered the same vast, soaring space but were escorted to our own table appropriately spaced apart from the dozen or so others spread out around the room. The table was set with stemware and a plate with assorted cheeses, bread, charcuterie and fruit.     Alongside two Corliss-branded face masks was a personalized note from the Corliss team, expressing gratitude for our support “during these uncertain times.” Tasting notes identified each of the four wines we sampled, but one of the winemakers also came by as we sipped to answer our questions and discuss the wines. Both of the wines released that weekend, the 2015 Corliss blend (Cab Sauv, Cab Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot) and the 2015 Cab Sauv, were, as always, complex, dark and very smooth, and I favored, just slightly, the blend, as I often do, over the Cab, but you could not go wrong with either. We also tried next spring’s release, the 2016 Syrah, with hints of spice in the nose and on the tongue and a silky texture and feel that coats the palate. Looking forward to picking it up in May! We finished with a barrel taste of the 2019 Cab Sauv — to be released in 2024. Clearly still so young, its structure and fruit promise another great wine to anticipate down the road. Owner Michael Corliss also stopped by our table for a nice chat, and we thanked him for the pleasure we get from his wines as he thanked us for our support.

It was a lovely, relaxed conclusion to our wine adventure, and we look forward to our next visit to Walla Walla in less-restrictive times.

— Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor