Wine Tasting in Walla Walla, Washington

Over the past few years in the industry, I have seen a burgeoning number of Washington state wineries (which to me are local, since I live in Washington state) find acclaim in the worldwide wine industry. In particular, a number of wineries in Walla Walla, Washington are so notable that I will include some of my absolute favorites, but cannot possibly name them all. I made it my personal endeavor to make the 300 mile drive from my hometown in Western Washington to discover what it was that was so compelling about an area that you could pair onion farming (and other agricultural pursuits) with winemaking, and not just any old winemaking: fabulous winemaking.

I began planning my trip by doing a little research on the Internet, and discovered the Walla Walla Wine Alliance, who provided me with information about the area and also sent me their map of the wineries in the area. Their website provided links to local hotels, bed and breakfasts, local events, restaurants worth stopping in to, etc. Thus began my novice regional wine tasting extravaganza that lasted two days, but could not have scratched the surface on the number of wineries. I noted just two major caveats: one, wine tasting rooms have odd hours and are mostly open between 11am and 4pm (each winery seems to vary on which days those hours include) and two, much of it requires a lot of driving and inherent patience.

But, a little wine headache before 3pm was not enough to deter my pursuit of my local wine-tasting vacation.