A few weeks ago we took part in an annual rite of spring: Spring Release Weekend in Walla, Walla, Wash. The first weekend in May finds wineries in the area throwing open their doors (some of whom are rarely open to the public) as the newest wines are presented for the first time. It’s a time to celebrate the greening up of the vines on the surrounding hillsides, visit old favorites and try some new places. We meet up with longtime friends there, but we also enjoy the camaraderie around a tasting bar as folks from all over the country (and the world) chat and sip and find commonalities and share wine and travel experiences. (It is rare to find a wine lover who isn’t also an avowed traveler.) A few highlights from our trip: We “found” Spring Valley Vineyard just last year, but it has quickly become one of our favorites. A true family winery, the land on which the estate grapes are grown goes back six generations, to the mid-1800s, and family members are deeply involved in operations today which produce wines named for family forebears. We visited the ranch, several miles outside of town, on Friday for a special Family Circle (wine club) event featuring a generous spread of cheeses, charcuterie, fruit and hors d’oeuvres; live music; and special tastings of older vintage “library” wines alongside the just-released bottlings. We enjoyed chatting with Dean Derby, patriarch of the family who, along with his wife, Shari, planted the first estate grapes in 1993. Dean was a University of Washington football standout and went on to play in the NFL for the Pittsburgh Steelers for five years in the late 1950s. A gracious gentleman, he warmly welcomes guests in his white cowboy hat while granddaughter Kate sees that everything runs smoothly as guests pick up and purchase wines. We picked up a few bottles of the 2005 Cabernet, one of the library wines available to taste. Leonetti Cellar, another family winery founded by the Figgins family and the first commercial winery in the area, always produces amazing wines and provides a wonderful Spring Release event for its wine club members. The grounds of this lovely estate are not open to the public, so we look forward to picking up our allotment each spring; tasting the wines; listening to live musicians; and exploring the grounds, barrel rooms and cellars.   A special event on Friday allowed us to taste all four current releases (’13 Merlot and 2012 vintages of Cabernet, Sangiovese and the Reserve Red Blend) and barrel-taste 2013 Cabernets from three different vineyards and Aglianico, an ancient Italian grape used by Leonetti to blend with its Sangiovese. Wonderful wines, wonderful ambience. We also enjoyed a barrel tasting at a special event at Corliss Estates, another winery with limited access most of the year. Its beautifully restored brick industrial tasting room in downtown Walla Walla hosted an opportunity to taste Syrahs from 2005, ’06, ’08 and ’09, as well as a red table wine and a Cabernet from 2010. Corliss’ wines benefit from more than two years’ aging in the bottle after extensive time in the barrel; they are smooth, rich and complex. We tasted the 2013 Syrah from barrels placed in the tasting room (right on top of a beautiful Oriental rug — they’re braver than me!). — Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor