Wild Walla Walla Wine Woman winds up for tasting events

November 16, 2011 Wine

A special tasting today at 19 N. Second Ave. kicks off a series of events that signal the start of the holiday season.

From 5 to 7 p.m., the wines of Forgeron Cellars will be poured and paired with cheeses from Cheese Louise.

Today’s wine and cheese event will be followed Thursday by “Le Beaujolais nouveau est arrivé,” a special tasting of a traditional French Gamay. According to Catie McIntyre Walker, who owns the downtown retail shop, France is known to erupt in massive celebration at the stroke of midnight on the third Thursday of each November. The celebration is for the unveiling of the Beaujolais Nouveau wine, which is a young — six weeks old — Gamay that comes from south of Burgundy. The light-bodied and fruity wine goes well with Thanksgiving turkey. The French government has adopted regulations delaying the wine’s release until the third week of November. It is tradition that the wine must be finished by Christmas. McIntyre Walker doesn’t plan to open at midnight. But she does … Continue Reading

‘Tis season for Three Rivers open house

November 16, 2011 Wine

Three Rivers Winery is getting into the spirit of the season with a Holiday Open House this week.

The Walla Walla winery, at 5641 Old Highway 12, will host an after-hours shopping event Thursday. From 5 to 8 p.m., the tasting room will be open and stocked with holiday gift items for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Linens and dinnerware for the holiday table, cookbooks, aprons, candles, cork jewelry, ornaments, confections, stocking stuffers, hostess gifts and more will be available for purchase. Brands include VIETRI, Michael Aram, Garnier Thiebaut, Couleur Nature, The Thymes, Roost, Stonewall Kitchen and Jan Barboglio.

Complimentary wine tasting will be available, as will gingerbread cupcakes from Frosted — The Cupcake Shop and charcuterie from Salumiere Cesario.

Those who attend will also receive a gift and have the chance to enter a drawing for a $50 gift certificate. A free gift will also be available to those who spend $100 or more on VIETRI holiday dishes. Guests will “draw for a discount” and receive 5 to 30 percent off purchases during the event. For more details, call 526-9463.

Walla Walla Vintners to open wine club

October 10, 2011 Wine

One of Walla Walla’s first wineries is the latest to launch a wine club.

After 15 years, Walla Walla Vintners announced last week it will introduce a wine club. Fans of the winery, 225 Vineyard Lane, may recognize the significance because Walla Walla Vintners founders Myles Anderson and Gordy Venneri have specifically held out from offering that service. Concerned a club would look like a marketing tool to push wine sales, they shied away from it.

The change of heart has apparently come from repeated requests from customers.

“It was our customers who got us to change our minds,” Venneri said in a statement. “We were constantly being asked if we had a wine club and also what were our personal … Continue Reading

Sunset magazine fetes Walla Walla man with achievement award

October 7, 2011 Wine

Allen Shoup, a pioneer of Washington’s wine industry and the founder of Walla Walla’s Long Shadows Vintners, was feted by Sunset as the magazine’s second recipient of its Lifetime Achievement Award.

Shoup and 50 other western wine figures were recognized Sept. 30 at the Sunset Western Wine Awards Gala in Pismo Beach, Calif.

Lowden winery Woodward Canyon was also recognized at the event for its 2010 chardonnay in the category of white wines between the $41 and $60 price range.

Other local wineries that were finalists for awards were Waterbrook for its 2008 merlot in the category of red wines under $15; and Gramercy Cellars for … Continue Reading

Leading wine buyers visit Walla Walla

September 28, 2011 Wine

More than 40 of the nation’s leading wine buyers trekked through Walla Walla on Monday as part of the fourth annual Road Trip Washington Wine program.

The visit was part of a five-day tour of the state for a group of wholesalers, retailers and restaurateurs meeting with grape growers and winemakers at the height of the growing season, according to an announcement from the Washington State Wine Commission.

The travelers started their tour Sunday and will make their way through the Yakima Valley and into Woodinville between today and Thursday as they experience Washington Wine Country.

The tour was first introduced by the state wine commission four years ago to help educate domestic buyers on Washington’s wine industry. Since then 177 high-level buyers and … Continue Reading

Two eateries add to downtown Walla Walla mix

September 2, 2011 Dine, Wine

A couple of new businesses in the works will bring a little rise-and-shine to downtown Walla Walla.

Two new eateries slated for separate downtown corridors will specialize in breakfast and other fare.

The Maple Counter Café is slated for 209 E. Alder St. in the former home of a transmission shop. Crews have been working on framing inside the building and workers Wednesday were busy pouring concrete pads outside.

Owners Kory and Rachel Nagler, transplants from the west side of the state, plan to offer breakfast and lunch, as well as beer and wine sales, according to an application filed with the Washington State Liquor Control Board. A little poking around online shows the couple have a history together in the business. The two have been part of a family tradition in breakfast spots through Oak Table Cafe Kingston, a restaurant created by Kory’s sister in the image of their parents’ own Oak Table Cafe in Sequim, Wash., according to the business’s website.

If The Maple Counter Café continues the tradition, expect … Continue Reading

Walla Walla winemaker to be honored by state hall of fame

July 21, 2011 Wine

Myles Anderson, the Walla Walla winemaker who launched the Institute for Enology and Viticulture at Walla Walla Community College will be inducted next month into the Legends of Washington Wine Hall of Fame.

The Walter Clore Wine and Culinary Center will honor Anderson during an induction gala Aug. 12 in Prosser.

Legends of Washington Wine are selected for their contributions of historical and lasting significance to the community and the wine industry, according to the announcement. Nominations are received from the public, and an industry-based selection committee evaluates and scores recommendations based on specific criteria.

A distinguished winemaker, Anderson and partner Gordon Venneri founded Walla Walla’s eighth winery, Walla Walla Vintners, in 1995.

His background in education combined with … Continue Reading

Walla Walla wine served at Obama state dinner

January 20, 2011 Wine

Cheers to Poet’s Leap.

The Walla Walla-produced Riesling made the menu Wednesday at the White House’s state dinner for China.

President Obama, guest of honor Chinese President Hu Jintao and a bevy of high-profile guests from diplomat Henry Kissinger to renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma dined on what news reports described as a “quintessential American” meal.

Along with Maine lobster, rib eye, apple pie and ice cream, the guests’ glasses were filled with a couple of Washington wines, including the 2008 Poet’s Leap Riesling.

Poet’s Leap is one of numerous wines created at Walla Walla’s Long Shadows Vintners, located off Frenchtown Road. There, internationally acclaimed winemakers from the major wine regions of the world are owner/partners in their own single wine. Each of … Continue Reading

Downtown Walla Walla tasting room renovates, changes its name

January 17, 2011 Wine

A downtown Walla Walla tasting room that opened late last year amid its development is back in the construction zone.

Plumb Cellars tasting room, which closed for renovation at the end of December, will soon re-open as Wine@NINE S. First.

The new name is an umbrella for the tasting room that will be shared by Plumb Cellars and Mansion Creek Cellars, according to an announcement.

The tasting room, located at 9 S. First Ave., is expected to open in February. Plumb Cellars is owned by Edie and Dale Johnson, Margo and Gary Kagels and Crandall Kyle. Mansion Creek is a partnership of Julia and Roger Russell and winemaker Jerry Myrick.

Plumb Cellars opened in the space before work was complete for Fall Release last November and … Continue Reading

New K Vintners tasting room under construction

January 13, 2011 Wine

A link on the K Vintners Facebook page this week offers a tantalizing peek into the construction taking place on downtown Walla Walla’s Spokane Street.

The construction of a tasting room and retail space for Charles Smith Wines has been under way, but few details about the project have been revealed.

According to a posting on the K Vintners page, the new tasting room is slated to open this spring. Seattle firm Olson Kundig Architects is designing the project. The company’s work includes museums, commercial design, academic buildings, exhibit design, interior design, places of worship and residences.

A few renderings viewable on the website of the Walla Walla project convey a retail storefront with the name “The Velvet Devil.” Check it out at olsonkundigarchitects.com and linking to projects in progress.

Former Patit Creek Cellars co-owner buys Trio Vintners

January 6, 2011 Wine

Trio Vintners is starting the new year with a single owner. The Walla Walla winery that opened in 2006 and became known for its Italian varietals has changed hands.

Founders and co-winemakers Denise Slattery and Steve Michener have sold the business to Karen La Bonté, a Walla Walla resident and former co-owner of Patit Creek Cellars. The purchase price was not disclosed.

“We have found in Karen a person who is as deeply passionate as we are about every aspect of the winemaking business, from continuing our personal style of winemaking and customer relations to growing the brand beyond the Pacific Northwest,” Slattery said in a prepared statement.

Trio Vintners’ downtown tasting room at 102 S. Second Ave. will re-open Feb. 17 after a brief winter break, according to the announcement. New hours of operation — 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday through Sunday, or by appointment — will begin then.

The winery was the first graduate of the Port of Walla Walla’s winery incubator program. The new tasting room opened in … Continue Reading