In celebration of Sam's 30th birthday, she and Brian invited George and me and two other couples to Walla Walla for a weekend of wine tasting. We had a great time seeing a bit of eastern Washington (a first for George and me), tasting wine, catching up with old friends, and making new friends. Because we had rented a house, we were able to hang out together and cook dinner at the house rather than deal with the hustle and bustle of a restaurant.
Over Saturday and today, we visited the following wineries: Waters, Gramercy Cellars, K Vintners, Russell Creek Winery, Mannina Cellars, Dunham Cellars, Buty Winery, and Terra Blanca. We definitely tasted a lot of wine we liked, but I felt that Walla Walla (at least the part that we visited) lacked the ambiance of Napa and Willamette, which have a certain romance with the vineyards surrounding the winery. Then again, Terra Blanca definitely had beautiful buildings, caves, and grounds.
This summer was so mild that the fruit has been ripening very slowly, and harvest is weeks behind across the Pacific Northwest. Because of the delay, we were able to see a lot of action: fruit still on the vine, fruit being sorted and de-stemmed, fruit in bins being fermented, barrels being filled. It's definitely a busy and exciting time to be in wine country!
All in all, it was a very enjoyable weekend...made even more enjoyable by a very special letter waiting in the box upon our return.
Photos are here.
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