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.

How to remove a cork from an empty wine bottle.

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.

Featured Winery: Tero Estates and Flying Trout

Typically, Spring Release Weekend doesn’t start until Friday, however, for those who can get here Thursday, you won’t want to miss the bonfire and s’mores at one of the valley’s newest wineries, Tero Estates.

Winery and vineyard owners, Doug and Jan Roskelley have teamed up with Ashley Trout of Flying Trout to give her brand a winery home. In exchange, Ashley will  collaborate with Doug on his estate wines.

To kick off their joint venture, they have planned a whopping four days of Spring Release events with imaginative and different activities each day.

Getting to them is a bit of an adventure, but a happy one that takes you to the historic site of Windrow Vineyard, part of the original Seven Hills Vineyard, planted in 1980. Once you get there, you are literally surrounded by both established and newly planted vineyards of some of the most illustrious names in Washington winemaking that includes Seven Hills, Marty Clubb and Figgins Family.

This is where it started for Walla Walla’s wine industry and with the recent vineyard arrivals that include JM Cellars, Octave, Cadaretta and Drew Bledsoe, we predict that this is where wine legends will be created.

Make the trip on any one of the four days, but for those lucky enough to be there on Thursday from 3-7:30 PM, you will enjoy their wines paired with s’mores around the bonfire and great hospitality from Ashley, Jan & Doug!

Highlights Friday, April 30:

• Spring Valley Vineyards Ranch will be open. Off Middle Waitsburg Road. 1-4PM
• Tero Estates & Flying Trout: Fiesta and Bluegrass 9-7:30 PM
• Wine Dinner at Waters Winery with Chef Mike Davis of Purple Bellevue. Reservations required.
• Wine Dinner at Basel Cellars featuring Chef JT of NW Wine Bar & Restaurant. Reservations required.
• Paella Dinner Party at Castillo De Feliciana Winery. Reservations required. (almost sold out)
• Northstar Winery features an Artist Reception featuring watercolors by Jill Ingram. Appetizers, wine tasting and meet the artist. 4:30 -7:00 pm
• Sapolil Cellars: The Randy Oxford Blues Series with The Fat Tones. 8-11 PM
• Kontos Cellars Mixer starts at 7PM. The Black Mercies start playing at 8 PM.

• Spring Valley Vineyards Ranch will be open. Off Middle Waitsburg Road. 11-3PM
• Celebrate with more than just wine at Three Rivers Winery’s  VIETRI Primavera Event from the producers of authentic Italian home decor. 10am-5pm
• Lodmell Cellars, 598 Piper Ave, Walla Walla Airport hosts Tonnellerie Radoux “LIVE” barrel making demonstration. 11-12:30PM.
• Incubator Wineries: West of the Blues BBQ Brunch and Lunch served up at the both days from 10-3 PM.
• Wine Dinner at Basel Cellars featuring Seattle’s favorite Italian chef, Chef Mauro Golmarvi of Assaggio Ristorante. Reservations required.
• Wine Dinner at Waters Winery with Chef Mike Davis of Purple Bellevue. Reservations required.
• Sapolil Cellars presents The Cut where local musicians compete for $100 or more in this local showcase. Each drink purchase allows guests a vote for the best of this night.

Highlights Sunday, May 2

• Pastries and Massage in the Vineyard at Tero Estates and Flying Trout. 9-2 PM.
• Incubator Wineries: West of the Blues BBQ Brunch and Lunch served up at the both days from 10-3 PM
• Lodmell Cellars, 598 Piper Ave, Walla Walla Airport hosts Tonnellerie Radoux “LIVE” barrel making demonstration. 11:30-2 PM.
• Watermill Winery hosts Sequin Moreau Master Cooper Douglas Rennie for a barrel-making demonstration on the patio. 11-3PM.
• Check out this video  on barrel making: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBHB1ek8Qjo

Have fun, taste safe!

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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10:  Taste Stella Fino Italian varietal wines while nibbling on Petit Noirs exquisite chocolates. For all of us dreaming of someday chucking the day job, there is no better inspiration than Marlene & Matt’s  story of leaving corporate NYC to come to Walla Walla to pursue their passion to make wine. Well…the only story that might compete with their story, is the one of the Petit Noirs’ owners of leaving corporate world to learn how to make fine chocolate and artisan baking in NYC and then following their passion here in our valley.

9:  Malbec, everywhere you can find it. Don’t miss Kontos Cellars Malbec (25 cases only), Basel Cellars are barrel tasting their 08 Malbec.

8: Amavi Cellars ‘ new digs on Pepper Bridge Road. While their grand opening is slated for Spring Release, they are inviting everyone to follow their progress on their new facility. And if that wasn’t reason enough, pairing their wines with Diane’s stew makes it a “must-see” on our list.

7:  Rock it out at Sapolil Cellars Friday night with The Randy Oxford Band. Tacoma based Randy Oxford and his energizing blues trombone leads this award winning headliner 6-piece band belting out rock, soul, funk, R&B, and jazz all wrapped around a blues core. 8-11PM. $15, 80 tickets only.

6:  Check out Ryan Raber’s new digs at Castillo de Feliciana! You gotta love just saying that name. Their newly-opened tasting room in the south end of WW is actually in Oregon, but don’t let that stop you, it is literally just over the line and the views and the wines are mighty fine.

5: Reynvaan Winery: Under the helpful direction of Christophe Baron of Cayuse, this winery is poised for great things. Take a drive all the way up Cottonwood Road into the foothills to meet Mike and Gale and their winemaker son Matt. This family is super friendly and clearly delighted to welcome visitors to their property.

4:  Rasa Vineyards: Probably the most diverse story we have seen in a long time. After working almost two decades in the lucrative tech world “to satisfy family expectations,” the brothers, Pinto and Billo Naravane are now making ultra premium, terroir specific Syrah based wines.  Stephen Tanzer scored their first release, 2007 Rasa Vineyards QED 91 pts; the Wine Advocate gave it 93 pts and the Wine Enthusiast Magazine made it an Editor’s Choice 94 pts. This is a winery to track.

3:  Substance Wines will be pouring at Waters Winery. This iconic brand has a lot of mojo;  cool award-winning labels and web site add up to a brilliant way of marketing affordable wines. Oh yes, their winemaking team are pretty cool too!

2:  Grand Opening of Tranche Cellars: This sister winery to Corliss Estates is holding an Open House Saturday from 10-5PM at their facility on Berney Drive (formerly Nicholas Cole Winery). Corliss Winemaker Kendall Mixx oversees  winemaking for the brand, whose mission to provide “uncompromised quality and deliver it to you at a reasonable price.”  Prices range from $16 -$35, with Stephen Tanzer scoring five wines 90+.

1: It wouldn’t be the Holidays without experiencing how we celebrate it here in Walla Walla. On Saturday, Macy’s Parade of Lights starts at 6PM downtown. Best viewing location is right on Main Street.  Dress warmly and enjoy this time-honored expression of small town life!

Enjoy Holiday Barrel safely!

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 5^th and 6^th.

Wine of the Weekend – This is what I call the WOW Award.  Over the course of several days, it is not uncommon to try one hundred or more wines. The question – If you had to pick just one wine as standing out above others, what would it be? I cheated this time, and picked three. Sorry.

Gramercy Cellars John Lewis Reserve Syrah 2007 Not Released

In discussing this wine earlier this year, Gramercy Cellars winemaker Greg Harrington stated that he went “balls out” – fermenting the Les Collines grapes used for this wine 100% on stems. He said “I find that I can’t make great Syrah until it scares the crap out of me.” It may have scared the crap out of him when he made it, but it impressed the hell out of me when I tasted it. This awe-inspiring effort, which recently received a 96 point rating from Wine Advocate, will be released next year.

Rasa Vineyards Principia 2007 $80

Rasa Vineyards is a new Walla Walla winery. This wine is named after Isaac Newton’s famous work ‘Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica.’ Latin for ‘Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy’, the work is often referred to simply as Principia. The name is a callout to the Naravane brother’s background in mathematics. Principia is a blend of Syrah from five different vineyards. This wine needs time to mature and show itself fully, but the results will be spectacular.

Cayuse Vineyards En Chamberlain 2008 Barrel Sample

There are some wines that, when I taste them, make me feel almost frightened. This is such a wine. When I think of this wine, the image of Michelangelo’s ‘The Creation of Adam’ appears in my head. Man and God coming imperceptibly close to touching. Despite its youth, the nose is lively and marked by earth, blood, violets, mineral, and smoked meat. The palate is about as close to perfect as I can conceive.

Winery of the Weekend – Of the wineries we visited, what one winery stood out for its entire line-up?

Gramercy Cellars – Writing about Gramercy Cellars earlier this year, I stated “If you are looking for a bandwagon on which to jump, now would be the time.” Today, I amend that statement. The sentiment was right but the analogy all wrong.  This was not an oncoming bandwagon but rather a rocket ship on the launch pad. Sampling through Gramercy’s current lineup, each wine is unique, compelling, extraordinary, and demanding of attention. This winery has achieved liftoff and is leaving the earth’s atmosphere. Where it will go, nobody knows, but it’s sure to be a fun ride.

Most Exciting New Winery – What new winery or winery you hadn’t visited before most excited you about Walla Walla wine?

Rasa Vineyards - Rasa Vineyards is a new winery founded by brothers Billo and Pinto Naravane. Rasa Vineyards currently makes two wines, one called Principia, described above, and one called QED. QED stands for Quod Erat Demonstratum which is often written in abbreviation at the end of a mathematical proof. It means essentially ‘I’ve proven what I set out to prove.’ If what the Naravane brothers set out to prove is that they can make exceptional syrah, the name could not be more appropriate. The proof is in the bottle.

Reynvaan Family Vineyards - Reynvaan Family Vineyards is a new Walla Walla winery. The family vineyard is located in the ‘Rocks’ region of the Walla Walla Valley AVA (can AVA status for this region be far off?). The vineyard is appropriately named ‘In the Rocks.’ The Reynvaan family recently established another vineyard by their picturesque family farm near the Blue Mountains. The initial releases from Reynvaan are two reds and one white wine. The Contender, the best of the three, is a compelling blend of Syrah and Marsanne. Tasting through the winery’s initial releases as well as barrel samples of next year’s wines, all are excellent with next year’s releases showing considerable additional maturity. While these wines show the thumbprint of consultant Christophe Baron, they are unique and show vineyard characteristics that only promise to become more intriguing as these young vines mature.

Party of the Weekend – Every winery pulls out all of the stops. Who put on the best show?

Robison Ranch Cellars – Robison Ranch is a new winery that was having its inaugural release party Fall Release Weekend. And was it ever. The winery is located on the family farm on Lower Waitsburg Road (off Hwy 12 east of downtown). Driving on the long dirt road leading to the ranch, I would never have imagined what awaited us. Inside one of the buildings was a full on party with a great band and a hundred or more people. This was no black tie event. Rather, hay bales served as seats. The winery had raffle giveaways every half-hour and had a roaring fire outside. What I loved about this party was that the family did it in their own style. Rather than bring in a local caterer, they had family and friends bring food. The result was by far (by far) the best spread of the weekend, including some to-die-for smoked salmon. This was a jubilant celebration of a winery’s first release and was the place to be.

WWWN comment: Robison Ranch Cellars is not open for Holiday Barrel 2009, however, their official launch will be Spring Release May 2010. Their website is currently in design and will be up shortly.

Disappointment of the Weekend – For all the highs, there must be some lows. These could be wines, wineries, or experiences. The question – What was your biggest disappointment of the weekend?

K Vintners – K Vintners was pouring out of the front room of the winery which made for extremely cramped quarters. We decided to leave after only sampling a couple of wines after practically having to crowd surf to the pouring tables. Another time I am afraid.

A full write-up of the weekend including tasting notes will be posted to my blog in December.

Sean P. Sullivan is editor of Washington Wine Report, an independent blog focused on bringing Washington wine to you and bringing you to Washington wine.

It is the bottle you grab when only you want a glass of wine with dinner.  Or when you just can’t bring yourself to open a more expensive wine when eating lasagna, pizza or hamburgers.  So when you find a great weekday wine, it is a treasure!

Walla Walla is chock full of great weekday wines as more wineries address the magic price point. Certainly, the premier spot needs to go to Tamarack Cellars Firehouse Red $20, a wine so popular they built their wine club on the premise that everyone needs at least a case in their cellar at all times.

Our current favorites are Mannina Cellars Sangiovese $22 and Saviah Cellars Jack $18. Another weekday staple, Balboa Winery has staked a claim on tasty red wines such as Cat’s Meow $20. If you are really lucky, your favorite mid-week restaurant’s house wines will be from Balboa.

No stranger to quaffable wines, Charles Smith of K Vintners perfected this concept with Magnificent Wine Company and then sold it to Precept Brands. As soon as he did, he started all over again with new black & white affordable labels.

Substance, a division of Waters Winery, has the cleverest labeling. Their budget-priced varietals are based on the chemistry table that stymied so many of us in college.

Rulo Winery is always in the running for great wines with terrific value.  Just down the road from them is Dusted Valley Vintners with their Boomtown Syrah and Merlot, both wines at $16.

Of course, we can’t forget Three-Legged Dog ($19) by Dunham Cellars and Kick Ass Red ($16) from Yellow Hawk Cellar.

More new wineries are offering wines in this price range. Don’t miss Cow Catcher Red $19 from Dumas Station Winery. This winery recently received 91 pts for their 2006 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon ($32) from Wine Spectator.  This weekend,  you can check them out at Merchant’s and even better, your tasting is complimentary.

Without a doubt,  there are many more,  so please send your favs.

In the meantime, it’s Thursday so raise your glass with a great weekday red wine!

However, it still came as a shock when we heard last week that Pepper Bridge and sister winery, Amavi would open a tasting room near the Hollywood School House. The venerable Pepper Bridge winery and vineyard by the same name has become synonymous with Walla Walla and its rarefied status as one of the premier wineries in our AVA.

The rationale is simple; a retail presence in Woodinville is the easiest way to reach the west-side population of wine consumers and introduce them to your brand. This is especially important for those labels who beefed up their wine production during the heady years of 2007 & 2008 and before the party stopped when the economy slowed down.

Fast forward to 2009. While an Eastern Washington tasting room may see anywhere from 5000 – 50,000 visitors a year (depending on brand awareness and location), wineries in Woodinville are able to tap into the many national and international visitors visiting Seattle each year. Upwards of 300, 000 visitors make Chateau Ste. Michelle a destination each year, according to a brochure obtained during a tour and tasting visit there several years ago.

What does this mean for Walla Walla? Probably not much. While our attraction as a premier wine destination may be grounded first in our wineries; it is also in our bucolic surroundings, our stunning Blue Mountain vistas, our agricultural heritage (of which grapes are the most recent crop), and our vibrant, renewed downtown.  In a sentence, our authentic wine country lifestyle.  For those of us who live here, we know it’s the real thing.

It remains to be seen if visiting a tasting room with a view of the sluggish slough or alongside a busy commuter road satisfies a wine consumer’s desire to touch the dirt that grows the grapes or if those wine visitors will accept an urban tasting room standing in as a facsimile of our wine country lifestyle.

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.

Monteillet Fromagerie is the first artisan-farmstead cheese maker in Walla Walla Valley.  Featuring a Grade A dairy and cheese making facility, the Monteillets have been producing traditional hand-ladled chevres (goat) and brebis (sheep) milk cheese since 2002.

Join cheese maker, Jackie Freeman, in two full days of hands-on cheese making at their farm. While making soft and hard goat and sheep’s milk cheese in a small group setting, they will discuss the basic principles of cheese making, equipment use and care, ingredients and supplies, and recipes to try at home.

The introductory workshop includes:

Day 1 (Mondays):  Practicum in Cheese Making

• Work with our cheese maker in the Fromagerie for a hands-on education on making fresh, soft-ripened, and hard (tomme-style) goat and sheep milk cheese
• Learn the basic principles of farmstead cheesemaking, equipment use, milk types, food safety, and more
• Cheese Tasting
• Optional local wine tasting*
• Optional Farm Lunch*

Day 2 (Tuesdays):  Affinage (Cheese care and ageing)

Enjoy a second full day in our cheese room with advanced instruction and hands-on practicum in caring and aging for fresh, soft-ripened, and aged cheeses

• Tour the farm and organic vegetable garden
• Introduction to livestock care and milking
• Cheese Tasting
• Optional local wine tasting*
• Optional Farm Lunch*

Workshop tuition:  The classes can be taken separately, or together.  Class tuition is $160 per person, per day.  If you choose to participate in both days of classes, you will receive a discounted class price of $275.  Your tuition includes hands-on farmstead cheese-making instruction and discussions, instructional materials, cheese tasting, and farm and facilities tour.  Maximum class size will not exceed six students.

Workshop Dates:  July 13-14; July 27-28; Aug 10-11; Aug 24-25; Sept 7-8; Sept 21-22; Oct 5-6

*Farm lunch and wine tasting available for an additional fee.

For more information and to register, visit their website.