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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OK, it’s our little secret. When asked what Walla Walla wines we drink, many of us respond with some of the best names in this valley: Leonetti, Spring Valley, Cayuse or Pepper Bridge.  However, when asked specifically what wine we opened tonight, we will give up our current favorite go-to-Walla Walla 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!

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By Guest Blogger: Denise Slattery

Tasting wine around the airport in Walla Walla is an excellent way to spend a wine- tasting day.  Once referred to as the “wine ghetto of Walla Walla” by Esquire Magazine (not sure this is a compliment or not!) it certainly does offer delicious treasures for even the most serious of wine collectors.  With over 18 wineries open on a regular basis, you’ll easily discover something wonderful to drink for dinner or a fabulous bottle to stash in the cellar.

Port of Walla Walla Wine Incubators

Up on Piper Ave., the Winery Incubators are a ‘must-see’ and, if you have not yet visited this destination, put the incubators on your wine tasting itinerary this fall.   Five start-up wineries in nearly identical buildings are nestled together in one place, each offering something different in their style and varietals.  Cavu Cellars, Adamant Cellars, Lodmell Cellars, Trio Vintners and Kontos Cellars make up the village and between them have dozens of wines on hand to sample. Stop by on any given day and you’ll most likely be greeted by the winemaker, or be able to spy the work he or she does.  Like many of the wineries at the airport, all the winemaking’s done right there, within full view of the tasting rooms.

Be aware, however, that ‘start-up’ does not necessarily mean ‘new’. The truth is that none of these folks are new to winemaking – just the commercial businesses are. In order to lease a space at the incubators the winery must be brand new.  At the end of the 6 year lease the winery must move out and make way for a new ‘baby winery’. The bare bones buildings allow the winemakers to fashion their own styles in a professional atmosphere and grow their brands.   The resulting quality of wine made here is certainly on par with what you would expect from the wines of the region; excellent wines produced from quality fruit grown in the region and made with great care and passion.

Denise Slattery is one of the trio of winemakers and owners of Trio Vintners in Walla Walla, Wa.

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.

Cayuse 2008 invite

Next weekend is the eighth annual Cayuse Release weekend. From its inception in 2000, this weekend has steadily grown out of its Main Street Provence yellow tasting room ~ the one with the perpetual sign saying “regrettably we are sold out!”

First-time visitors to Walla Walla often remark that the tasting room appeared closed as they went by. Those of us of have lived here for any length of time remember a time when they were open to their allocation list two days each year. Now, the storefront is shuttered with the exception of those occasions when the rich or famous drop by to pay their respects to Christophe.

Once again as it has for the last several years, the event happens at their production studio in Milton-Freewater.

Not that we mind, for it is always a great party. Cayuse Vineyards is one of the truly unique Walla Walla wines whose fame has left our valley and has ricocheted back to bath us in the glow of their acclaim!

The date is such a natural conclusion to crush activities that other wineries have assumed this weekend as their prime opportunity to showcase new releases.  Early adopters such as Abeja (by invitation), Northstar and Dunham have added their considerable charm to the festivities.

This year, even more wineries have joined in the weekend’s activity giving visitors 30 to 40 great reasons to visit Walla Walla the first weekend of November.

For a listing of individual winery events, visit our website.

Two blog items concerning the rich and famous with our own local stars.

At Through the Walla Walla Grapevine, the new label from Eric Dunham, owner/winemaker of Dunham Cellars and actor Kyle MacLachlan, called Pursued by Bear.

Earlier this year, Men’s Vogue ran an article on the project.

From Paul Gregutt’s blog, he hints that an official announcement of an exciting new winery and wine project from Walla Walla native Drew Bledsoe and winemaking consultant Chris Figgins is coming.