Our recent trip to the wine country around Walla Walla, Washington, saw us pack a lot into just three days. We scheduled visits to old favorites, enjoyed some special tastings and events at wineries where we are club members, and also made a point of trying out some new places. We were blessed with perfect fall weather: sunny and crisp, with the fields and vineyards showing their fall colors.

Our first full day of tasting included a trek quite a ways out of town to Reynvaan, tucked under the foothills of the Blue Mountains. Then we made our way to old favorites Rulo (where they always offer a great variety of foreign and domestic cheeses alongside their reasonably priced and wonderfully balanced wines), Isenhower and Tertulia. We refueled with a quick lunch at Andrae’s Kitchen, offering fabulous food at a most surprising location: a Cenex gas station. We squeezed in a few more stops at The Walls and The Foundry. The latter was new to us, and its tasting room incorporates a large art gallery space featuring new installations every quarter, and original art is featured on the winery’s labels.

We allowed ourselves a chance to recharge back at our hotel before meeting friends at Hattaway’s on Alder for dinner. This newer restaurant in Walla Walla combines traditional Southern cooking with local ingredients to create hearty, delicious food. We started off with a decadent duck paté served with crusty bread, pickled vegetables and a delicious pear chutney. My husband and I shared a farmhouse salad served with a creamy mustard vinaigrette before the entrées were served. The table tried an assortment of dishes, from pan roasted duck leg with a pumpkin and ginger purée, rye berries and that pear chutney again    to gnocchi with garlic sausage,      from clams and sausage to duck breast with dirty rice.  Of course, we had to finish up with the chocolate flourless torte!

The next morning found us returning to Longshadows, a stunning modern winery set among the rolling hills outside of town that boasts several pieces of Chihuly glass in its tasting room. We enjoyed several special wines (both new releases and library wines) and hors d’oeuvres    before venturing on to some new (to us) wineries out near the airport.

Walla Walla Vintners has been making wine here for 20 years, and we enjoyed their rustic tasting room (quite a contrast from Longshadows!)    and easy-going vibe. Alongside their wines visitors could make a s’more over an open fire or fix up a baked potato to stave off the autumn chill. We then stopped in at a new winery, Prospice, on the recommendation of another winery, and though we’d vowed we wouldn’t join another wine club, their wines were just too good to resist!   We wrapped up the day’s tasting at yet another new winery on the scene, Elephant Seven, focusing on Rhône varietals and set in an art-filled, modern space downtown.   Dinner that evening was provided by Rotie Cellars for their wine club members and guests — wine club membership has its privileges!

We decided this particular trip to Walla Walla rated at the top of our experiences there. While we always enjoy visiting our old friends, we relished the experiences at several new and exciting wineries and their enthusiastic young vintners. Cheers!

— Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor