They did it again! Tom Maccarone and Chef Jake Crenshaw, co-owners of the popular T. Maccarone’s restaurant in Walla Walla purchased one of downtown's beloved landmarks, the 34-year old Merchants Ltd Deli. Tonight was the premiere opening for the Olive Marketplace & Cafe. It proved to be a grand evening of good food, good wine and visiting with many familiar faces, besides being the first ones to see the new design. Yes Walla Walla Peeps, in many ways it is still the same Merchants LTD but even better with the same casual feel; adding a new paint job, furniture, art, kitchen and restrooms. The balcony area has new furniture and even niches for studying and meetings. In fact, it looks even bigger in spite of the sea of growing people who were there tonight to celebrate. The Olive Marketplace will be opened daily from 6am to 9pm and 10pm on Fridays and Saturdays. Breakfast from 6-11am and the lunch and evening menus will feature their flat bread pizza, sandwiches, soups and other items. I can tell you first hand the flat bread pizza was luscious and so many toppings to choose from. Espresso, tea, local and imported wines and beer on tap ...

The Julia Child Boeuf Bourguignon Cookoff Contest is Friday, Feb. 5 from 5-7 pm at Someone's In the Kitchen, located at the corner of 4th and W. Rose, downtown Walla Walla. This event is co-sponsored by Walla Walla Lifestyles Magazine and the Downtown Walla Walla Foundation. It was inspired by the movie "Julie & Julia." If you are not familiar with the movie, "Julie & Julia", it depicts events in the life of chef Julia Child in the early years of her culinary career, while contrasting her life with Julie Powell. In 2002, Powell aspired to cook all 524 recipes from Child's cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking during a single year. Powell also shares her experiences online about her experiences cooking the recipes in a blog named, The Julie/Julia Project which led to a book and of course, a movie. The movie itself is a must-see for foodies, wine lovers and of course, wine and food bloggers. I left the theatre with this need to cook Boeuf Bourguignon, chocolate cake and omelettes. In fact, I swung open the door to my house and greeted my dog and two cats singing in a high pitched voice, "Bonjour!" Now, here is how ...

Jennifer Northam talks with Tom Maccarone about Olive Marketplace. Get a sneak peak at the new digs before it's open. Only on the Downtown Buzz, sponsored by the Walla Walla Downtown Foundation.

As the winery says: When earth, moon and sun align - it’s syzygy When earth, vine and sun align - it’s SYZYGY! One might think with the self-named title of  Wild Walla Walla Wine Woman that I kick up my heels every night drinking wine and hanging by downtown lamp posts - - au contraire.  Believe it or not, I slip quietly into wine bars and restaurants, don’t make a fuss and usually home by 8:00 pm. The Vineyard Lounge at the Marcus Whitman Hotel is one of my favorite places to haunt in Walla Walla.  I have a favorite table, which I am not going to tell you which one it is. When I visit the lounge, I play a little game in my head regarding which wine I will order, so I look for a "sign." When I check the wine list, with all of the tempting Walla Walla wines to sample, I need a little help. So, I look for a "sign"... A few weeks ago, I walked into the Vineyard Lounge and sitting  there was Zach Brettler, winemaker and owner of SYZYGY Winery. Could this be a sign? Sure enough. I opened up the wine list and there it was - my ...

Many “best of” wine lists are published each year, but this annual look at my top 100 Washington wines is focused exclusively on wines from this state. I look through a year’s worth of tasting notes and select one wine from each of 100 wineries for inclusion. This ranking is not done strictly by the numbers, though I scored all these wines 90 points or higher on the 100-point scale. But because I firmly believe that both quality and cost are factors in overall excellence, these rankings also took price into account. So with wines that got a 94 score, for instance, I gave a higher ranking on this list to the one that was cheaper. All have been released within the past year, but some are already sold out. Your wine seller can guide you to what is still available, and in some instances he or she may have a newer vintage in stock. Why just one wine per winery? With more than 650 wineries in the state, it is the best way to feature the breadth and depth of the industry’s offerings. My sincere appreciation to the talented growers and winemakers mentioned here, and to all of you who ...

Sip wine. Get sketched. One Walla Walla tasting room will offer the ultimate pairing of wine and art at this weekend’s Fall Barrel Tasting. Artist Jeffrey Hill will be creating free portraits Saturday for customers at Sweet Valley Wines tasting room, 12 N. Second Ave. The sketches are expected to take anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes apiece. Guests will be drawn on a first-come, first-serve basis, said Josh McDaniel, winemaker for Sweet Valley Wines and Righteous Wines. Hill, known for his impressionistic style as Walla Walla’s “Vineyard Van Gogh,” has left his mark at numerous wineries. He’s created labels for wineries from Isenhower Cellars to Sapolil Cellars; murals, including one at Reininger Cellars; and even a metal and glass mobile at Cougar Crest. For more information, call 526-0002.

Every year, more wineries are choosing to release their new vintages on this first full weekend in November. The combination of crush just ending, new wines and special events makes this one of the best times to visit Walla Walla. A list of participating wineries and their events follows, as compiled by wallawallawinenews.com Abeja By invitation only. àMaurice Cellars Friday: noon - 4:30 p.m. Saturday: 10:30 a.m.  – 4:30 p.m. Sunday: 10:30 a.m.  - 1 p.m. New Releases: 2007 Columbia Valley Chardonnay, 2007 Columbia Valley Grenache/Syrah and 2007 Columbia Valley Malbec. Amavi Cellars 635 North 13th Ave. Friday: 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.. Saturday: 11 a.m. -5 p.m. Sunday: 11 a.m. -5 p.m. 3796 Pepper’s Bridge Rd. Saturday: 10 a.m. -5 p.m. Sunday: 10 a.m. -5 p.m. Weekend activities: Tasting fees. At the new location on Pepper’s Bridge Road only, there will be a breakfast for Coin Club members on Saturday and a serving of the new “Coin Club Member-Only” Ceres wine. Basel Cellars Estate Friday: 10 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Saturday: 10 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Sunday: 10 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Weekend activities: $5 Tasting fee. Enjoy bratwurst on the grill. Local photography by Carol Cole. Steve Roberts will be at the winery Saturday to sign his book, “Wine Trails of Washington.” New releases: 2007 Carmenere, 2007 Claret and ...

Living in wine country - there are magazines published, books written and even entire furniture lines targeted to the “lifestyle” - but what does it really mean? We are fortunate enough to live within a couple of miles from some of Washington’s most prestigious wineries and tasting rooms so I decided that I want to get a first hand look at what the average visitor to Walla Walla experiences when they enter a tasting room here in the valley. And I want find out how they decide where to go during each visit to our “wine country.” My first stop on this quest is Dunham Cellars. Dunham is known for their busy tasting room, their great wine club parties, a knock-out line-up of single vineyard reserve wines and of course the dogs! I went tasting on a Thursday afternoon last week; not their busiest day of the week but what Jordan Fitzgerald, my guide during my time at Dunham, tells me is a steady day. She can expect to see about 15-20 visitors on an average weekday, but during harvest season weekends the small tasting room bursts at the seams seeing over 100 people on a given Saturday. Dunham Cellars does charge ...

We met with the women behind DaMa Wines as they prepared their grapes for the crush.

Halloween may be just around the corner, but owners of a local bed-and-breakfast are partnering with a new downtown Walla Walla winery to plan Thanksgiving dinner. Chef Charles Maddrey of the Fat Duck Inn will prepare a family-style Thanksgiving feast to be served at Walla Faces, Walla Walla's new tasting room at 216 E. Main St. The event is limited to 50 guests, so reservations are required. The cost is $65 per person and includes dinner and one bottle of Walla Faces wine per couple. ••• Canoe Ridge Vineyard will toast its 20th anniversary when it opens its doors for Fall Release the first full weekend of November. The winery, 1102 W. Cherry St., will open Nov. 7 and 8 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. One of numerous wineries to participate in Fall Release, Canoe Ridge planted its first grapes in 1989. In celebration, the winery will release its 2007 Cherry Street Red table wine, 2007 syrah, 2006 reserve merlot and 2006 reserve cabernet sauvignon. A tasting of library wines will also be offered. A $5 tasting fee is reimbursable with a wine purchase and waived for active wine club members. Guests can pay $5 and enter to win an etched collectors magnum. Light hors d'ouevres ...

There’s something to be said for the safe road. There are fewer bumps and bends, plenty of travelers to keep you company, and the freshly painted signs assure you’ll always stay your course. But for those with a full tank of gas and a taste for excitement, the road less traveled can be a lot more fun. Among the inspiring voyagers are Ryan and Renee Crane, owners of Walla Walla’s newest winery, Kerloo Cellars. Leaving the security of their 9-to-5 lives, this husband and wife team set out to prove that daydreams can become day jobs — if you’re willing to change lanes. ON YOUR MARK … With promising sales careers, the purchase of their first home (a 1912 craftsman they still gush over today) and all the shiny accoutrements of city living, these young Seattleites were cruising in the fast lane three years ago. But while the wheels of their lives gained momentum, they couldn’t escape the feeling they were heading the wrong direction. “It’s the difference between just being content, and taking risks for your long-term goals and happiness,” says Renee. “We had a great life in Seattle, but we knew something else was out there for us.” After years of waiting tables ...