Walla Walla Spring Release

We ventured over to Walla Walla this past weekend to check out their Spring Release. If you haven’t heard about Walla Walla, here’s some quick Wikipedia facts to catch you up: Walla Walla has the second highest concentration of vineyards and wineries in the state of Washington, just behind the Yakima AVA (American Viticultural Area). The wine history in the area dates way back to the 1800s when some fur traders and gold rushers started getting faded off some grape hooch. Unfortunately, an especially rough winter, some shifting economic conditions and something called prohibition killed whatever momentum the local wine industry had going. In 1984, a couple early vineyards gained traction and Walla Walla was designated as an AVA. Now Walla Walla is home to 120 wineries and the birthplace to one prominent Grapes of Smashed writer.

Sleight of Hand

We strategically set our sights on Sleight of Hand first due to some insider info (we knew if we got there early enough, we might get to pick the music from their very respectable vinyl collection). Well as the expression goes, the early bird gets the worm, and a couple of Van Halen fans beat us there and ate our worm. We still had a great time in one of the most fun tasting rooms you will experience in the Colombia Valley. Shelves of vinyl are accompanied by SOH merch that spoofs infamous album covers along with their old time magician themed labels. We were met at the door with their fantastic “Magician” Riesling which was a surprisingly good way to kick off the day. Every wine we tasted here was great – we especially liked the “Levitation” syrah and encourage everyone to go for a tasting. Although these wines won’t come in under the Grapes of Smashed $15 mark, a tasting is only $10 and is refundable with purchase of a bottle. If you don’t want to trek all the way to Walla Walla for the SOH experience, they also have a tasting room in the SODO neighborhood of Seattle. Visit if you want to pair your favorite band tee with your wine tasting.

Vital Winery/Brook & Bull

Our next stop was at Vital Winery, which features two wines that donate all sales to the local SOS clinic in an effort to improve the health conditions of winery workers in the Walla Walla Valley. If there were ever a reason to go above $15 for a bottle, this would be it. That being said, if you owned a dozen Vital bottles it wouldn’t qualify as a charity case. A crisp rosé and a spicy GSM make this one of the easiest charities to support. Ashley Trout’s other brand, Brook & Bull, makes up the other side of this winery. A very interesting Cab Franc and the “Come Hell or High Water” blend were the personal highlights for GoS. Not to be lost in all the wine tasting was the fantastic cheese spread available in the Vital tasting room. We’re not talking about no kraft singles and ritz here, we’re talking brie, asiago… Even a crumbly spread that we thought about smuggling out of there until we realized we would be stealing from a good cause. Anyways, remember to pack snacks during a long day of wine tasting kids. Visit if your love of wine is only overshadowed by your love of charity and cheese.

áMaurice Cellers

If Sleight of Hand has the best music selection in Walla Walla, áMaurice Cellers had the best curated playlist. As we entered the open tasting area, a deep Blitzentrapper cut was playing over the stereo system. That, coupled with the two prior tastings put me in an ideal head-space to make the most of this stop. The large tasting room had a roll up door (Anyone who knows me, knows I’m a sucker for a convertible indoor/outdoor space) that opened to an outdoor seating area enclosed by the rolling fields of grape vines. As we bounced from sunlight to shade and back again, we drank a particularly delicious red. The “Night Owl” estate blend ended up being the favorite bottle of the trip for this particular GoS member, while the entire experience ended up being a real crowd-pleaser. Visit this winery if you want to take in great views while sipping one of the best blends in the valley

Aluvé Winery

We stumbled upon this winery by taking a wrong turn out of the áMaurice parking lot. More of an upscale house than a winery, they had one tasting located in the garage downstairs and another upstairs on their deck overlooking the vineyards. We lucked out and were able to snag a table on the back deck. This winery is a relatively young operation started by two retired Air Force pilots. Both were on hand to give us the full story behind their winery and little personal history regarding how they ended up in Walla Walla. It made for a very relaxed setting with some great wine. In particular, the rosé and estate cabernet stood out as favorites. We sure are glad for that wrong turn – if only all of my wayward drunken decisions ended up so pleasantly. For once, when I stumbled out of an unfamiliar house to face the cruel light of day, I didn’t feel any regret. Visit this winery if you want a laid back setting similar to drinking on a friend’s deck.

Charles Smith Wines

After a quick lunch break and some much needed coffee we set our sights on the well-known Charles Smith winery in downtown Walla Walla. The large open tasting room could easily be mistaken for a trendy brewery given its industrial sheik vibe and loud music. There were two tasting options: a $5 tasting featuring their “Substance” line and a $10 tasting featuring the “K Vintners” line. Both are great options that I would highly recommend, especially if you enjoy bold flavorful wines. Although most of these bottles eclipse the $15 dollar mark, the $5 tasting featured some under $20 options and the kind staff informed us that the ViNO series (not available for tasting) of wines featured three bottles for the low price of $12 each. Look for us to review those in the near future. Of the two tastings, the “Guido” Sangiovese and the “El Jefe” Tempranillo were our favorites. Visit this winery if you want a lively atmosphere with bold wines.

Gard Vintners 

While we were waiting for our unpaid intern/designated driver to wake up from his nap and pick us up, we came across Gard Vintners, a winery that had been recommended to us earlier in the day. Let me tell you, thank god for interns sleeping on the job, because this winery possibly had the best wine across the board… And we’re not just saying that because we were on our sixth tasting of the day. In particular, the new chardonnay they released was collectively the favorite white wine of the day. Everyone in the GoS crew liked every bottle that we tasted, all of which went over the $15 mark (sensing a theme?). But I did leave with a $14 “Freyja” white blend that Gard just released (not part of the tasting). Look for that to be reviewed in the near future. Stop here if you need some great wine to help you kill time until your ride arrives.

Summary

Overall, we couldn’t be happier about our weekend in Walla Walla. From the Winery hosts to random people asking about our shirts on the street, everyone seemed very receptive to our project. Although it was awesome to focus on the $40+ wines for a day, we will be back to rating the affordable stuff in no time.