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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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By Guest Blogger:  Catie McIntyre Walker

The Fall Release Weekend is just around the corner and whether you are sage and savvy when it comes to wine weekends or perhaps a newbie, here are a few tips and reminders to help you make the most of your weekend.  First of all and most important: we are assuming that you already have your room reserved along with a few restaurant reservations, because blue tarp camping and staring pitiful at diners with reservations, while drooling on restaurant windows is never attractive.

So how will you survive such a busy weekend? My first suggestion is to head into Walla Walla with the mind set you are here to relax, learn a lot and have a great time.  Also, before you head out the door, take the time to print off a copy of the Walla Walla Wine News Fall Release Guide. This list will assist you in what to expect from the wineries regarding their new releases, activities and their hours for public tastings.  Need a map to the wineries?  Contact the Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance for their brochure or catch it online. You can also locate brochures at many of the wineries.

Now, that you have made your list of wineries to visit and checked it twice.  Here is where tourists and wineries are going to find out who’s naughty or nice.  My best advice is to relax. R-E-L-A-X and have a great time.  Be courteous and put your cell phone on voice mail, especially when you are in the wineries.  Are you really that important and if you are, perhaps your Secret Service or Royalty Protection people can answer your calls.

The mornings of wine tasting, walk away from the granola nibbles and enjoy a hearty breakfast. Oh yeah baby, it’s your excuse for biscuits and gravy!  Load up on carbs and proteins and hydrate-hydrate-hydrate! Hydrate with H2O all day! Don’t forget to take the time through the day to have a nosh here and there. Many of the wineries will be serving complimentary appetizers and offering food for purchase throughout the day.

Pace yourself from winery to winery and learn how to spit! It’s the only time momma would approve of you spitting in public.  Take notes of the wines you tasted and don’t be afraid to ask questions, especially if you are a wine newbie.  It’s important to keep an open mind to wines you have previously ignored or did not like, while remembering one winemaker’s chardonnay and vintage may not taste like another.  And while you are keeping an open mind, don’t be all locked into tasting only wines that have received 90-something points and above.  You never know when you may find an affordable treasure that will later be discovered and giving you the advantage of boasting to your wine peers, “I remember them when…”

Keep a realistic goal of how many wineries to visit in one day. The point of these events is to “taste” the wine and learn about the fruit of the area and the winemaker’s style. It’s always a good idea to have a designated driver, but having a designated driver doesn’t mean you have to deaden your taste buds. By the sixth winery visit, your taste buds will become fatigued and fuzzy. So the 25th wine you tasted in one day may taste very different the next time you taste it on a fresh palate.  And the most important reason for not tasting through every wine in the Walla Walla Valley?

We want you to have another reason to come back and visit us!

Catie McIntyre Walker is the original Walla Walla wine blogger at Walla Walla Grape Vine. After eight years of cleaning spit buckets and pouring for the masses in local tasting rooms, Catie hung up her cork screw to pursue her writing and open her online wine store, Walla Walla Wine Woman. Catie also writes a wine column for Walla Walla Union Bulletin’s magazine, “Lifestyles”, blogs for Tourism Walla Walla and is a contributor to Palate Press and Washington Tasting Room magazines.

Traditionally, the first full weekend in November has been the only time Cayuse Vineyards opens their winery doors to their allocation list.  Now, many Walla Walla wineries use this weekend to officially celebrate the end of harvest and release their newest wines.

We have compiled our list of winery hours, new releases and special events in a take-along PDF. Use this as your guide to this year’s Fall Release Weekend. Many wineries have special events including winemaker dinners, art exhibits, food offerings, etc.

As a preview to Fall Release, we will be posting a new blog everyday this week and will be featuring guest bloggers including a ‘Walla Walla Fall Release Survival Guide’ from the famed Wild Walla Walla Wine Woman, Catie McIntyre Walker.

Don’t miss guest blogger and winemaker Denise Slattery of Trio Vintners as she details airport winery happenings and her picks on what not to miss.

Be sure to check back every day as we add events  and new blogs.

Reminder:  If you are coming to Fall Release in Walla Walla, you will have already made your lodging arrangements, but don’t wait to plan where you will be eating. Our restaurants will be very busy this coming weekend, so call early to make sure you have dinner reservations.

We look forward to seeing you here in Walla Walla. Even if you can’t make it to Fall Release, be sure to follow us on Twitter (@wwwinenews) as we tweet all through the weekend.

Two weeks from now, Walla Walla wineries take a break from the mad-dash crush of Harvest 2009.  From the late start of the growing season, to the compressed harvest, it was an unusual year all around. One of my favorite winemakers told me that it was the shortest crush season he can remember.  After such a hectic time, it must be time to party.

Traditionally, the first full weekend in November has  been Cayuse weekend, the only two days that the famed maker of Bionic Frog opens their doors to their adoring fans. This year as every year, wine visitors  will flood our valley.

What Cayuse started, others have joined. As more Walla Walla wineries choose to release their wines this weekend;  the party keeps growing. Look for private events at Corliss Estates, Abeja & Reynvaan Family Winery (their viticulture and wine consultant  is Christophe Baron, owner of Cayuse.)  At these events,  you are either on the list or you will be cooling your heels at the door.

Never fear, later this week, we will roll out our report on who is releasing what new wines and what festive activities are happening that are open to everyone.

If you are coming, lodging accommodations are already in short supply and restaurants will be in over-capacity mode. In this economy, no new restaurants have opened to handle the busy wine & college weekends. However, several enterprising wineries are offering special dinners: Waters Winery (Friday & Saturday) $90 pp, Northstar $85pp/Members$65  and Dunham Cellars $125 pp.

We will be adding events all week, so check back often.

In preparation for its major Grand Opening Celebration on June 5th, the new Waterbrook Winery will host a “Sneak Preview” of its facility for this weekend’s Spring Release Weekend, May 1 – 3. During the preview, guests will have the opportunity to taste Waterbrook’s award-winning portfolio of wines with winemaker John Freeman and tour the new 53,000 sq. ft. winery located at 10518 West Hwy 12, just west of Walla Walla.  Guests will also be served in a festive “construction” themed atmosphere as a play on the winery nearing its final stages of completion.

Waterbrook Spring Release “Sneak Preview” Hours: Friday & Saturday: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., Sunday: 10a.m. – 4 p.m. Winery tours will be offered at 11 a.m., 2 p.m., and 4 p.m. daily. The $5 tasting fee includes a souvenir wine glass and guests will receive 10-30% off wine purchases during the weekend.

The official Grand Opening of Waterbrook’s new Winery and public Tasting Room will take place on June 5-6.

Walla Walla Wine Works Grand Opening, May 1 – 3 (formerly Waterbrook at 1st & Main)
The new winery opening also brings news of a retail transition for the Waterbrook tasting room on 1st & Main in downtown Walla Walla. The tasting room formerly known as Waterbrook will now reopen its doors this weekend as Walla Walla Wine Works. With “new vino” and a “new vibe,” the Walla Walla Wine Works Tasting Room will offer a vast portfolio of premium Washington wines including: Apex Cellars, The Magnificent Wine Co., Pendulum, Waterbrook 1st & Main exclusives and more!

Walla Walla Wine Works Spring Release Grand Opening Hours: Friday: 11 a.m. – 8 p.m., Saturday: 11 a.m. – 7 p.m., Sunday: 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. A complimentary tasting of select Washington wines is available with a $5 tasting fee for Reserve wines. Guests who sign up to receive future promotional offers will receive 20% off weekend purchases.