How do you improve a bottle of wine? Well, yes, cellar it properly, serve it at the right temperature in appropriate stemware at its optimum time, etc., etc. But the easiest way, requiring virtually no knowledge of the minutiae of winetasting, is to share it with friends. We had the opportunity to share lots of different bottles of wine with several of our longtime oenophile buddies (and a few hundred strangers) this past weekend. Hosted by the Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance, vintners from that wonderful wine region in Washington state brought a broad assortment of varietals and blends to Pure Space event venue in the Pearl District of downtown Portland, Ore.

The Walla Walla winemakers bring their luscious products at least twice a year to consumers in Seattle and Portland, introducing their fine wines to those who haven’t yet discovered the riches of the far southeast corner of Washington. And for those of us who already have had the pleasure, these gatherings provide the opportunity to revisit some of our favorites and explore new wineries without the long drive (or short flight) to get there. Some fellow wine lovers whom we met last year at a bed and breakfast in Walla Walla alerted us to this event about a month ago, and the news that a local radio station was offering discounted tickets spread through our circle of friends like wildfire. Before you could say “Pass the bottle,” we’d all ordered our tickets and made plans to meet for the three-hour tasting.

Nearly 50 wineries (Walla Walla boasts well over 100) were pouring, and we did revisit some of our tried-and-true favorites (Saviah, Amavi, Tertulia, Reininger, Woodward Canyon, Five Star Cellars), but the biggest delight was trying new and new-to-us producers and discovering some really wonderful wines. Someone in our group would go off, get a taste of something, and then share his or her impressions. If the impressions were positive, pretty soon the rest of us would be trying it, too. It broadened our overall sampling of the wines being offered while giving us the opportunity to visit with each other and enjoy the camaraderie of good wine and friendship.

Here were a few of our new-found favorites of the evening (Yes, those Cabs and other reds were fabulous!):

Bunchgrass Winery, 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon

DaMa Wines, 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon

Dusted Valley, 2010 Stained Tooth Syrah and 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon

Kontos Cellars, 2009 Alatus [red] Blend and 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon

Rasa Vineyards, 2009 Creative Impulse and 2009 In Order to Form a More Perfect Union

Sleight of Hand Cellars, 2010 Illusionist Cabernet Sauvignon

— Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor