Revelations from 2009 as we head into the New Year!
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.
In response or perhaps just part of Walla Walla’s evolution, winery dinners were offered on busy crush weekends at Dunham Cellars, Waters Winery & Northstar. Guerrilla dinners jumped to the surface at a certain downtown winery over the summer. The only way you knew about it was if a friend invited you but good food news spreads rapidly and virally throughout our valley. Look for a more upscale underground version to start in January from Chef Andrae; sign up for the email notification at http://laportebrune.com
Some wineries were able weather the challenging times well. Reynvaan Family Vineyards opened their doors at Fall Release Weekend and sold their inaugural vintages completely out, only had futures to promote by Holiday Barrel. Sapolil Cellars became the place to hang out on Friday & Saturday nights to listen to music and drink wine. Charles Smith scored 100 points on his Royal City Syrah, ensuring that his winery was always crowded.
For other wineries, it was a year to learn direct marketing techniques when west side restaurants took it on the chin. Less wine was sold through this channel and what was sold was at lower retail prices. Some wineries, such as Dusted Valley, Gifford-Hirlinger and Isenhower Cellars opened satellite tasting rooms in Woodinville this year. Everyone else jumped on Facebook to find friends and fans, beefed up their email newsletters and focused on selling whatever, wherever. With the advent of Twitter, Leonetti’s 2006 Sangiovese appearing at Tukwila’s Costco was a 140-character revelation.
Of course, as in every challenging period, there are opportunities to realize and several projects are waiting in the wings to reveal themselves! More about these in an upcoming 2010 blog.
For now, say goodbye to 2009. We survived this tough, challenging year, learned new ways of doing things and said adios to others.
We wish all of our readers, a better 2010 and we’ll be right here making sure you know all the wine news in Walla Walla!
Cheers!
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