Today is Saturday July 31
One never knows when this information might come in handy.
How to open a bottle of wine with a shoe. Check out the dude in the white sweater. I grabbed my Wine Away just in case.
We are pleased to introduce a new feature for our What’s Up blog ~ a look ahead at upcoming events and news of interest to the wine visitor.
If you follow us on Facebook page or on Twitter, you will have gotten first word of these happenings.
Wineries on the Move:
Trio Vintners are the first of the incubator wineries to leave their airport location. Next month, look for their new tasting room on 2nd between Alder & Poplar Streets. They will use Forgeron Cellars as their wine production facility.
Also moving by late summer, Glen Fiona Winery, which is owned by Washington Wine & Beverage Company of Woodinville, will be relocating their tasting room to downtown.
Lynne Chamberlain of JLC Winery, recently opened her Spofford Station Foothills Vineyard tasting room, just across Stateline into Oregon – easiest way to get there is via Braden Road (look for the sign at Gifford Hirlinger), then 2 miles down Elliot Road, following the road until you reach the first driveway on your left. Open most Fridays and Saturdays with vineyard tours by reservation.
Doubleback, Drew & Maura Bledsoe’s winery, release their inaugural vintage – 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon – this month with by-invitation-only tasting on Saturday, June 5.
The Marcus Whitman Hotel has plans for a tasting room on their corner of 2nd & Rose. For more information, visit our real estate listings page.
Sapolil Cellars have a second tasting room planned for Ellensburg.
Yellow Hawk Cellar are ceasing operations and are closing their 2nd Ave tasting room on July 3rd. Until then, they are discounting their wine inventory to move it out.
Wine Events: June
Friday & Saturday, June 18 & 19: Vintage Walla Walla. The Wine Alliance’s stellar vintage tasting event with scores of other activities for attendees.
Saturday, June 19: The Vintner’s Table presents JLC’s winemaker Lynne Chamberlain at her Spofford Station Foothills Vineyards for a vineyard tasting, followed by a wine dinner and campfire.
Thursday, June 24 ~ Sunday, June 27: Washington and Walla Walla’s wine industry welcome the Wine Bloggers Conference, when bloggers from all over North America experience our brand of wine culture.
Saturday June 26: Chef Andrae Bopp presents La Porte Brune’s 4th Underground Dinner. The true movable feast takes place once again at a new location for this 4th Walla Walla dinner. Enjoy an exquisite five courses paired with wines of the world. The menu with the wine pairings will be posted a few weeks prior to the dinner. Exact location will be emailed just days before. To get on the invite list, visit the website and submit a comment with your name and number of people.
Restaurant & Bar News:
Crossroads Steakhouse are leaving Veterans Memorial Golf Course and opening in the former 26brix location on west Main Street.
Something is happening regarding a new dining venture in downtown Walla Walla by the owners of Whoop’em up Hollow Cafe of Waitsburg. When we know more, we’ll post it here, on Facebook and on Twitter @wwwinenews
Look for Waitsburg’s brew pub, Laht Neppur, to add a second location at the corner of Spokane & Alder.
The Pita Pit, on the corner of Colville & Alder, in the former Luscious location, are adding a full bar to their services.
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When Leonetti started this weekend well more than a decade ago, who would have thought that more than 50 wineries would open their doors annually to join the celebration. For the complete listing of all the weekends events, visit our event calendar.
New Wineries:
Here is a listing of new wineries celebrating their first SRW (Spring Release Wknd). Make a point of checking them out and welcoming them to the party.
Walla Walla’s wineries have shifted into high gear for this year’s Spring Release Weekend ~ Thursday, April 29-Sunday, May 2. Wineries are planting flowerpots, mowing the vineyards and generally sprucing up their facilities, in preparation of more than 3000 valley visitors to this annual ritual of spring.
This year, more than 50 winery events have been posted on our events calendar. We can’t remember as many special events in previous years. This year’s offerings include wine dinners, barrel-making demos, music and more music and of course, great food to accompany the newest releases from the valley’s wineries.
Here are our best picks of special events for this great weekend! In addition, there are plenty of wine club events that can be found on our event listings.
Then, stay tuned next week when we release our list of the “Must-See Wineries” for 2010 Spring Release Weekend, including ones celebrating their first release and our short list of “always favorite” stops.
Here is a wine visitor’s update on the good food stories happening in Walla Walla:
*Merchant’s Deli was sold to T. Maccarone’s in December 2009. Since then, the venue has been renovated and reopened with extended hours as Olive 
Marketplace & Cafe. Changes include a new menu featuring a variety of flatbreads as well as take-away items including cheeses, freshly baked breads, fresh fish and seafood.
*Chris Ainsworth, owner/chef of Saffron Mediterranean Kitchen has been listed as a semifinalist in the 2010 James Beard Foundation Awards, Restaurant & Chef Award for Best Chef: Northwest.
*Waterbrook Winery’s Executive Chef Ceil Blaine offers cooking classes on select Wednesdays. Check out her schedule on our website.
*Creektown Cafe opened for brunch on Valentine’s Day weekend. Word is that they plan on opening for brunch most weekends. Stay tuned for that announcement.
*Graze Catering, which opened in the former Cheval location at 5 S. Colville Street, has announced extended hours. Now open from 10-7 PM weekdays and offering paninis, soups, salads and hot and cold sandwiches. Beer and wine. Word is they are playing with the idea of an occasional (secret) Saturday night dinner. Check back here for that information.
*Someone’s In the Kitchen, known for their cooking classes, opened for lunch last year. They quickly became a favorite lunch spot for really great soups and sandwiches. Now they have added breakfast on weekdays and Sunday brunch.
*There is a growing trend of guerrilla or underground dinners popping up around town at TBA venues. Those in the know get an email with a date — venue and menu to follow. One such dinner series is offered by Chef Andre Bopp. He has just announced La Porte Brune’s Underground 3rd Dinner on April 10 and a 4th dinner on June 26. See our events page for contact info.
*Whoopemup Hollow Cafe and jimgermanbar are always compelling reasons to visit Waitsburg. However, Mardi Gras is extra special!
*Salumiere Cesario has expanded their menu options and now that the weather has turned pleasant, their patio is open.
*WW Taco wagons always offer great value for terrific food.
*Closings: Cheese Louise and Carravagios (at the airport) have closed their doors.
This week, in a lengthy email to their list, Cayuse Vineyards once again demonstrated to the industry and their patrons just how independent they are. After 13 releases on the first full weekend in November, they have cancelled this November’s release date and will move their release party to April 2011. According to the email, the Frog’s libido needs the rejuvenation that comes with spring’s warmer weather therefore, this move is permanent.
For those who are on the vaulted list, the Cayuse weekend is THE reason to travel to Walla Walla to taste the next vintage release and to pick up this year’s allocation as it is the only time that the winery opens up to its customers.
What a year it has been in Walla Walla! From our first blog piece mid-January, announcing the closure of five restaurants, most significantly the demise of 26brix, to the year-end news that Merchant’s Deli has been sold to T. Maccarone’s team of Tommy and Jake, it has been a year of regrouping and retooling. Another change is that now you will have to pay to read U-B content.
Overall, it was a year where everyone worked a bit harder to sell wine, cheese and hotel rooms; more bottles than cases as some wineries shared with us.
And while wineries and consumers did not spend as freely as they may have in the past, the visitors still came to Walla Walla giving a weekend boom for lodging properties and putting the pressure on the remaining restaurants.
By Guest Blogger: Catie McIntyre Walker
We are all familiar with the song, “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” It’s a melodic and repetitious rhyme with a list of strange gifts. I mean like if you live in th
e city, where are you going to put all of those birds, let alone house and feed all of those lords, maids, dancers, pipers and drummers in today’s economy? At least the price of gold has gone up so you can sell the five gold rings to take care of everybody for a while.
However, in the interest of Walla Walla Valley wines, I found an easier way to gift your favorite wine lover during the Twelve Days of Christmas. And in the interest of time and space, I have listed just the full twelve days of the gifts. But of course, you are welcome to start the song from the first day of Christmas in honor of traditions: lather, rinse, repeat and sing the carol’s tune.
“On the first day of Christmas, my wine-o friends sent to me: A Leonetti in a grape field. On the second day of Christmas…”
As it is impossible to visit every Walla Walla winery this Holiday Barrel, at WWWN .com we have surveyed the offerings and compiled our ‘must-see’ list. There are many, fine wineries in our valley, so this is only a short-list. If we have missed your favorite winery or your favorite story, let us know!
By Guest Blogger: Sean Sullivan
As many of my friends know, my favorite game after a day of wine tasting is to go, person by person, through a series of questions about what stood out. For me, talking about wine is a big part of the fun. The questions inevitably go like this – What was the wine of the weekend? What was the winery of the weekend? What was the most exciting new winery we visited? What was the biggest disappointment?
For 2010 Walla Walla Fall Release Weekend, I have shared below my answers to these and other questions. If you attended Fall Release, feel free to join in the fun and post your thoughts to these questions or other things that stood out during your visit. If you missed Fall Release, Holiday Barrel Tasting is right around the corner on December 5th and 6th.
