A few weeks ago, fully vaccinated and ready for some fun, my husband and I returned to Walla Walla for our first Spring Release Weekend in two years (last year’s being cancelled due to the pandemic). We did venture north last November for a very cautious and low-key weekend; and while it was great at that point to visit our Washington friends, there was still a lot of uncertainty about the future and some anxiety in the present at that point. This time around the mood was lighter, the weather warmer and brighter, and more folks were out and about with an optimistic outlook for the coming months.

We drove east from Portland through the Columbia River Gorge along Interstate 84 and then exited at Pendleton (home of the famous Round-up and those great wool blankets) to cut northeast over rolling hills patchworked in bright green winter wheat fields, last year’s golden stubble and brown fallow. Just south of the Washington state line lies the little town of Milton-Freewater. Because it lies within the boundaries of the Walla Walla Valley AVA, several wineries make their homes here, and here we would enjoy our first tasting of the long weekend.

We had visited Rôtie Cellars last fall, and we enjoyed contrasting our views then — on a cold, wet day and surrounded by bare vines —   with the lush, emerging growth on this warm and sunny day.   The nearly brand-new tasting room is perched above the production facility and offers views over the countryside and adjoining vineyards. Set in the Rocks District, the winery gives tasters an up-close understanding of the appropriateness of the region’s moniker. .  Looking at all those cobbles and the small amount of dirt between them, it’s hard to imagine how the vines grow there. But this area has gained a strong reputation for producing distinctive and wonderful wine grapes for several wineries here.

The tasting room offers outdoor seating on several terraces,    but it was warm enough that we opted to sit inside with a choice of tables,   the tasting bar  or alongside the windows facing out towards the vines. We opted for the latter, and Maddie, the tasting room manager, quickly set us up with the two different flights we’d be tasting.    Rôtie makes Rhône-style wines, and the first flight included the Spring Release wines: the 2020 Southern White blend, a light, smooth, crisp wine predominately featuring Viognier; the 2019 Southern blend of 65 percent Grenache, silky and hinting at raspberries; and the 2019 Northern blend, 95 percent Syrah co-fermented with Viognier and featuring velvety tannins and great balance. We sampled the 2020 Rosé (85 percent Syrah/15 percent Grenache) (several Walla Walla wineries have added Rosés to their repertoires in the last few years and sell them out quickly) — light and refreshing and not too sweet — before moving on to the second flight of wines, released last fall. The 2018 Little G is 100 percent Grenache, again presenting raspberries in a light, smooth wine. The 100 percent Mouvedre, Dre, offered a buttery, butterscotchy nose and was bright and fruity but not too sweet. The 100 percent Tannat is a not-too familiar varietal that proved balanced but powerful — a really delicious wine.

We had one more tasting to squeeze in before dinner in town, so we headed on up the road to a new favorite we discovered last fall, though they’ve been making wine here since 2007. SuLei‘s downtown tasting room that we visited has shifted out to the farm and production facility just north of the state line. We were warmly greeted by Elaine Jomwe, co-founder and operations manager, along with several of the farm’s residents. Every respectable tasting room/winery has a tasting room dog,    but SuLei Cellars goes beyond with some handsome chickens,   a miniature horse and her companion goat,

  a very friendly and curious fellow. Elaine was gracious enough to spend nearly and hour and a half with us, chatting and offering us very generous pours of their wonderful wines. Tanya Woodley, co-founder and the winemaker at SuLei Cellars, also popped in for a brief hello, but she was in the midst of the ongoing project of expanding and updating the facility and couldn’t visit long. We tasted the newly released 2020 Viognier, which we received in our wine club allotment, as well as the 2019 Pinot Gris and a 100 percent Albariño. We had to get two bottles of the latter; so crisp and refreshing, it will be great with seafood. We also ended up picking up two bottles each of the 2016 Dena Rae (a Tuscan blend with a nice, medium body and lower alcohol but tons of black cherry and plum flavors) and the 2016 Beet Red, a wonderfully balanced blend of Cab Sauv, Cab Franc, Petit Verdot and Syrah. That one should be great with barbecue, offering lots of dark fruit and a silky texture. We finally had to bestir ourselves and get up from our comfy seats and head into town to make our dinner reservation, but what a relaxing and delightful tasting it was!

We were off to an excellent start on our wine adventure, and there was still so much more to come. More on that in upcoming blogs.

— Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor