My wife and I are heading over to Walla Walla WA for a few days at the end of April and want to spend some time tasting. At the moment we are enjoying “extra-dry” Rieslings, Syrahs, Rhone blends and Mourvedre. We prefer visiting the smaller, just off the radar wineries. We have sampled a few Yakima wines but haven’t really explored Washington or Oregon yet.
I’ve heard that Rasa makes a good off-dry Riesling as well as a mourvedre, so they are on our short list. Other’s we are contemplating are:
Gramercy
Waters
Reynvaan
Rotie
Maison Blue
Andrew Will and Cayuse garnish excellent reviews as well as Charles Smith, but their pricing seems a bit over the top.
Any recommendations including any Red Mtn vineyards, would be appreciated.
Cayuse is only available for tasting once a year, this coming weekend, and only open to people on their list.
My favorite wineries in Walla Walla includes:
Rotie
Kerloo
Reynvaan
Gramercy
Sleight of Hand
Others in W2 that I like a lot:
Waters
Buty
Amavi
Fjellene
I like Maison Bleue as well, I’m actually stopping by there on Friday on my way out to Walla Walla. I haven’t found much else in the Red Mtn area that I’ve tasted at. I mostly just get straight over to W2 since there is such a concentration of wineries there.
We visited there in 2010. Our favorite wineries were, in no particular order: Rulo, Walla Walla Vintners, Long Shadow, Cougar Crest, Northstar, Va Piano. We visited during the week so most required appointments. I posted a long Travel Report over on West Coast Wine but it won’t let me log in this morning to search for the link. Also, Charles Smith has opened a tasting room in Walla Wall.
Our overall impressions of the wines were very good. I like the styles of Cabernets being made there more than their Napa cousins. The Rone varietals are excellent. Cougar Crest makes a large variety of wines ranging from average to very good. I think they make too many. If I had to recomment one place it would be Long Shadow.
Agree on quality of Long Shadow although I haven’t visited their tasting room. My trip to Walla Walla was some years ago but if you decide to include Prosser area, I recommend Willow Crest which is maybe a little below the radar. They do an interesting Mourvedre among other more traditional varieties. I also liked the Syrahs from Saviah Cellars in Walla Walla. The prices at Willow Crest and Saviah are welll below the more renowned producers and the visit is likely to be more personal. I checked the Willow Crest website and see that they also make a Lemberger (Blau Frankische) rose’.
Hal-you’re on the right track. I’d certainly recommend those that you have on your list, particularly Rasa and Gramercy. Reynvaan is closed to the public now, so you’d have to make a special request. Theere are also several small fun places whose wines are quite good but may or may not be at the top, like Rulo, Fjellene, Buty.
REmember, Red mountain is a long ways from Walla Walla, although an easy stop on the way. Not many wineries in Walla Walla feature their grapes. There aren’t many on site wineries there (red mountain) that are worth visiting, athough the view is nice. Most of the best red mountain fruit based wines are made at wineries that are elsewhere (eg Andrew Will, Cadence, Quilceda Creek, are all in Western Washington).
We are headed there this weekend and will be tasting at Kerloo,Gramercy,A Maurice and Walla Walla Vintners as well as picking up our Cayuse.A maurice is a real up and comer and WWV makes a very solid,well priced lineup year after year.As for Red Mountain,Col Solare is a nice stop.
Thanks so much for the early suggestions! We will be there on a Thursday - Sunday so I will schedule appointments for all that are not in downtown W2. We are heading down from Vancouver BC to the Oregon Coast so Walla Walla is a planned detour. We will leave Oregon (Willamette) wine for the next trip.
I am not sure if Washington State is known for any quality dry Riesling. No one has mentioned any yet, so perhaps if there are any, they are not particularly well known or proven beyond a single vintage?
Depends on what you mean by “quality” and “dry”. You’ll find huge quantities of cheap not bad riesling. You’ll find interesting scattered bottlings of pretty good stuff, not often dry. In WW, Rasa has been playing with riesling. One, howevver is an auslese style, the other kabinett bu not that dry. (they made a fun dry alsatian style pinot gris which if it’s still around you should try). Actually woodward canyon for a while made a very under the radar pretty good dry riesling. Haven’t tried it in years. Long shadows, of course has riesling, but I’m not remembering dry. I don’t think any of the grapes come from WW–the best come from Celilo vineyard down on the columbia.
Long Shadows make a really nice Riesling (Poet’s Leap), which I think would be in the style you’re looking for.
I think the lack of Riesling is an effect of economics more than anything else. Farming is expensive, so it is easier to justify with a $40 bottle of Syrah than with a $20 Riesling, and I would guess that the market for reds is bigger than the market for whites, but we don’t really need to go down that line of thinking and hijack the thread.
There might be more luck for Rieslings in either Woodinville (Ch. St. Michelle) or the Willamette Valley. I don’t know for sure, but it might be just a bit too warm for Riesling is most of Washington, which is why most of the whites you’ll see will be chardonnay and Rhone varietals.
Our favorite dry Riesling at the moment is from Smith-Madronne on Spring Mtn. It’s $27 per bottle. We enjoyed a dry Loosen Bros 2009 vintage but their 2010 vintage lacked the balance and finish. We’ve tried various Alsace and Kabinett but have not found any we would purchase again. Although our options in British Columbia are kind of limited. We enjoy a higher acidic Riesling with lots of citrus expression but any lingering sweetness puts the bottle into the don’t buy again category.
If you are out Prosser way (but another 45 minutes from Prosser), make an appointment to visit Paul and Judy Champoux at Chateau Champoux (http://www.chateauchampoux.com/). They only source grapes but to some auspicious wineries (Quilceda Creek, Andrew Will , and Sineann are among the “big dogs” along with numerous others). We visited them a couple years ago during harvest - lengthy and educational vineyard tour and returned to the tasting room for where he opened a couple bottles (not QC or AW) of some fine juice. Great people.
+1 to all of John’s Recommendations. Love me some Kerloo, Rotie, Gramercy and Reynvann, and especially MB!
I would also add:
Tranche (You won’t be disappointed! Corliss’ sister winery. Call for private tasting if non-event weekend)
Mackey (Billo Naravane of Rasa is the wine maker and it shows. Call for a tasting experience at the winery, instead of downtown)
Rulo (Kurt and Vicki are amazing people. Kurt is making some great wines; all under Stelvin closure, but don’t let that steer you away! Call for a private tasting.)
We head to W2 twice a year and are heading back in the fall to include Yakima for another palate fatiguing week!
Enjoy your trip…some real gems coming out of SE Washington.
Look forward to your notes!
We’ve been going to W2 a couple time a year for about 10 years. Some really good unique stuff there as well as lots of good QPR non-distinct stuff. My first thought on reading your post was Rasa, but you already have them on your radar. Awesome stuff. Try his Riesling, probably not your style but quite good, and his Syrah’s and Mourvedre are wonderful.
Others that you and John had that I hit every visit:
Thanks all for the great suggestions. We are more excited than ever to go. Thanks especially for the tip on booking a tasting at the Mackey vineyard rather than the downtown tasting room. I much prefer the appointment style and take our time, rather than the tasting room shuffle. Calls and emails going out. I’m arranging our schedule now.