Anyone tasted in Walla Walla or Willamette in the winter?

We are sitting on some flight credits for trips that have to be completed by 31 March 2022. We have been able to book flights for our other credits and have only this one set left. We would love to visit wineries in Walla Walla or Willamette in mid to late March. Are wineries typically open for tasting during the winter months? I spot checked a few wine producers’ sites but none say whether or not they are open seasonally.

Historically, there’s a week of nice weather in the first part of February.

The infamous February fake-out! Willamette Valley weather can be a bit iffy (rain, but very rarely snow) in March, but most winemakers are usually around. The last full week of March is usually Spring Break for kids, which can create problems for winemaker parents. Walla Walla may be a little more difficult due to the potential for very cold/windy weather.

Thanks for the heads up on Spring Break. I would never have thought about that. Maybe mid-March is better. We can deal with the cold, wind, or rain. Driving in snow would be a different issue. We would much rather go in May but the deadline on the last of our four trip credits rules that out. There are places with better weather that we could go but the wine country of Washington and Oregon are calling.

It appears that the Oregon Chardonnay Celebration will be the last weekend of February 2022. That would be a terrific experience and an event that I can hopefully attend in the future. At this point it appears that the event is still scheduled, but who knows with winter around the corner and possible pandemic restrictions. Rick or Todd may have more information.

We’ve visited both areas in mid March two of the past four years. While the weather can be hit or miss (i.e. snow in Walla Walla year one and green grass year two) we found it was a great time to visist. Nearly all of the wineries that we wanted to visist were open or easy to make appointments and we often were the only visitors at the time. We experienced the same with restaurants… all open and easy to make reservations. We would not hesitate to visit either area again in March.

It looks like WA and Oregon are good to go for February or March. Thanks James for the heads up on the Oregon Chardonnay Celebration.