For those who are on the vaulted list, the Cayuse weekend is THE reason to travel to Walla Walla to taste the next vintage release and to pick up this year’s allocation as it is the only time that the winery opens up to its customers.

Yes, there is the Provence-yellow store front on Main Street near Merchant’s Deli (recently sold to T. Maccarones, and soon to will reopen as Olive Café). Hopeful visitors often comment that they stopped by the Cayuse tasting room only to see the note on the door, “Sorry, we are sold out.” It takes a local to tell them that that sign has been a permanent fixture throughout this past decade and that the only way to sip the famed Bionic Frog is to get on the list.

Yes, the Frog does things his way. And it appears that while most pricey wines have taken a battering in the snapping shut of consumer’s wallets, he remains just as cheeky.  He does it his way or one imagines no way at all.

In a state with recognized industry leaders such as Leonetti, Quilceda Creek, Woodward Canyon and a handful of others, Cayuse and its iconic frog remain the single most creative (and successful) brand we have. Even the usually irreverent and innovative Charles Smith bows to conventionality when it comes to his tasting room experience. Perhaps this aspect of the business bores Charles and he feels assured that “they will buy.”

What does this change mean? In the past number of years, many wineries have adopted the November Cayuse weekend as their fall release date. We don’t see this changing. The first full weekend in November is a perfect time for Walla Walla wineries to host their harvest celebration. The weather is usually good, if a bit chilly, the mountain pass on I-90 from Seattle is clear and there are no competing industry events. It is a few weeks before the Thanksgiving weekend wine events for Yakima, Prosser and Red Mountain region and a month before St. Nick’s in Woodinville.

No, the real impact will be felt at Spring Release, which got its start from Leonetti when they established the first full weekend in May as their release date. The dilemma will be for those fortunate to be on both lists, “which weekend do I pick if I can only do one?”

Cayuse’s change is great news for our hotels, B & B’s, restaurants and other businesses driven by wine visitors as this will jumpstart our wine season by three weeks.

Did the Frog think about all of this when he made his decision? Probably not! More likely, it was the sheer logistics of hosting his growing list inside the winery that made this decision necessary. By moving the date to April, they can move the party outside.

And what a party it is; great wines, tasty morsels, beautiful people pouring wine for equally attractive tasters and a ribbon of expensive automobiles waiting to pick up their allotted yellow boxes, make Cayuse releases happenings.

Or maybe it is as the Frog said, he needs the warmer weather to be randy!

Overall, it was a year where everyone worked a bit harder to sell wine, cheese and hotel rooms; more bottles than cases as some wineries shared with us.

And while wineries and consumers did not spend as freely as they may have in the past, the visitors still came to Walla Walla giving a weekend boom for lodging properties and putting the pressure on the remaining restaurants.

In response or perhaps just part of Walla Walla’s evolution, winery dinners were offered on busy crush weekends at Dunham Cellars, Waters Winery & Northstar. Guerrilla dinners jumped to the surface at a certain downtown winery over the summer. The only way you knew about it was if a friend invited you but good food news spreads rapidly and virally throughout our valley. Look for a more upscale underground version to start in January from Chef Andrae; sign up for the email notification at http://laportebrune.com

Some wineries were able weather the challenging times well. Reynvaan Family Vineyards opened their doors at Fall Release Weekend and sold their inaugural vintages completely out, only had futures to promote by Holiday Barrel. Sapolil Cellars became the place to hang out on Friday & Saturday nights to listen to music and drink wine. Charles Smith scored 100 points on his Royal City Syrah, ensuring that his winery was always crowded.

For other wineries, it was a year to learn direct marketing techniques when west side restaurants took it on the chin. Less wine was sold through this channel and what was sold was at lower retail prices.  Some wineries, such as Dusted Valley, Gifford-Hirlinger and Isenhower Cellars opened satellite tasting rooms in Woodinville this year.  Everyone else jumped on Facebook to find friends and fans, beefed up their email newsletters and focused on selling whatever, wherever. With the advent of Twitter, Leonetti’s 2006 Sangiovese appearing at Tukwila’s Costco was a 140-character revelation.

Of course, as in every challenging period, there are opportunities to realize and several projects are waiting in the wings to reveal themselves! More about these in an upcoming 2010 blog.

For now, say goodbye to 2009. We survived this tough, challenging year, learned new ways of doing things and said adios to others.

We wish all of our readers, a better 2010 and we’ll be right here making sure you know all the wine news in Walla Walla!

Cheers!

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We are all familiar with the song, “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” It’s a melodic and repetitious rhyme with a list of strange gifts.  I mean like if you live in the city, where are you going to put all of those birds, let alone house and feed all of those lords, maids, dancers, pipers and drummers in today’s economy? At least the price of gold has gone up so you can sell the five gold rings to take care of everybody for a while.

However, in the interest of Walla Walla Valley wines, I found an easier way to gift your favorite wine lover during the Twelve Days of Christmas.  And in the interest of time and space, I have listed just the full twelve days of the gifts.   But of course, you are welcome to start the song from the first day of Christmas in honor of traditions: lather, rinse, repeat and sing the carol’s tune.

“On the first day of Christmas, my wine-o friends sent to me: A Leonetti in a grape field. On the second day of Christmas…”

On the twelfth day of Christmas,
My wine-o friends sent to me
Twelve Geoff Tate’s Insania a-humming,
Eleven North Stars a-shining,
Ten Long Shadows a-leaping,
Nine Nina Lees a-dancing,
Eight Calico Cats a-napping,
Seven Buty’s and a Beast,
Six Flying Trouts,
Five Star Cellars
Four-Legged Dogs
Three Waldeaux Smithies
Two Sleight of Hands
And a Leonetti in a grape field!

Catie McIntyre Walker is the original Walla Walla wine blogger at Walla Walla Grape Vine. After eight years of cleaning spit buckets and pouring for the masses in local tasting rooms, Catie hung up her cork screw to pursue her writing and open her online wine store, Walla Walla Wine Woman. Catie also writes a wine column for Walla Walla Union Bulletin’s magazine, “Lifestyles”, blogs for Tourism Walla Walla and is a contributor to Palate Press and Washington Tasting Room magazines.

10:  Taste Stella Fino Italian varietal wines while nibbling on Petit Noirs exquisite chocolates. For all of us dreaming of someday chucking the day job, there is no better inspiration than Marlene & Matt’s  story of leaving corporate NYC to come to Walla Walla to pursue their passion to make wine. Well…the only story that might compete with their story, is the one of the Petit Noirs’ owners of leaving corporate world to learn how to make fine chocolate and artisan baking in NYC and then following their passion here in our valley.

9:  Malbec, everywhere you can find it. Don’t miss Kontos Cellars Malbec (25 cases only), Basel Cellars are barrel tasting their 08 Malbec.

8: Amavi Cellars ‘ new digs on Pepper Bridge Road. While their grand opening is slated for Spring Release, they are inviting everyone to follow their progress on their new facility. And if that wasn’t reason enough, pairing their wines with Diane’s stew makes it a “must-see” on our list.

7:  Rock it out at Sapolil Cellars Friday night with The Randy Oxford Band. Tacoma based Randy Oxford and his energizing blues trombone leads this award winning headliner 6-piece band belting out rock, soul, funk, R&B, and jazz all wrapped around a blues core. 8-11PM. $15, 80 tickets only.

6:  Check out Ryan Raber’s new digs at Castillo de Feliciana! You gotta love just saying that name. Their newly-opened tasting room in the south end of WW is actually in Oregon, but don’t let that stop you, it is literally just over the line and the views and the wines are mighty fine.

5: Reynvaan Winery: Under the helpful direction of Christophe Baron of Cayuse, this winery is poised for great things. Take a drive all the way up Cottonwood Road into the foothills to meet Mike and Gale and their winemaker son Matt. This family is super friendly and clearly delighted to welcome visitors to their property.

4:  Rasa Vineyards: Probably the most diverse story we have seen in a long time. After working almost two decades in the lucrative tech world “to satisfy family expectations,” the brothers, Pinto and Billo Naravane are now making ultra premium, terroir specific Syrah based wines.  Stephen Tanzer scored their first release, 2007 Rasa Vineyards QED 91 pts; the Wine Advocate gave it 93 pts and the Wine Enthusiast Magazine made it an Editor’s Choice 94 pts. This is a winery to track.

3:  Substance Wines will be pouring at Waters Winery. This iconic brand has a lot of mojo;  cool award-winning labels and web site add up to a brilliant way of marketing affordable wines. Oh yes, their winemaking team are pretty cool too!

2:  Grand Opening of Tranche Cellars: This sister winery to Corliss Estates is holding an Open House Saturday from 10-5PM at their facility on Berney Drive (formerly Nicholas Cole Winery). Corliss Winemaker Kendall Mixx oversees  winemaking for the brand, whose mission to provide “uncompromised quality and deliver it to you at a reasonable price.”  Prices range from $16 -$35, with Stephen Tanzer scoring five wines 90+.

1: It wouldn’t be the Holidays without experiencing how we celebrate it here in Walla Walla. On Saturday, Macy’s Parade of Lights starts at 6PM downtown. Best viewing location is right on Main Street.  Dress warmly and enjoy this time-honored expression of small town life!

Enjoy Holiday Barrel safely!

As many of my friends know, my favorite game after a day of wine tasting is to go, person by person, through a series of questions about what stood out. For me, talking about wine is a big part of the fun. The questions inevitably go like this – What was the wine of the weekend? What was the winery of the weekend? What was the most exciting new winery we visited? What was the biggest disappointment?

For 2010 Walla Walla Fall Release Weekend, I have shared below my answers to these and other questions. If you attended Fall Release, feel free to join in the fun and post your thoughts to these questions or other things that stood out during your visit. If you missed Fall Release, Holiday Barrel Tasting is right around the corner on December 5^th and 6^th.

Wine of the Weekend – This is what I call the WOW Award.  Over the course of several days, it is not uncommon to try one hundred or more wines. The question – If you had to pick just one wine as standing out above others, what would it be? I cheated this time, and picked three. Sorry.

Gramercy Cellars John Lewis Reserve Syrah 2007 Not Released

In discussing this wine earlier this year, Gramercy Cellars winemaker Greg Harrington stated that he went “balls out” – fermenting the Les Collines grapes used for this wine 100% on stems. He said “I find that I can’t make great Syrah until it scares the crap out of me.” It may have scared the crap out of him when he made it, but it impressed the hell out of me when I tasted it. This awe-inspiring effort, which recently received a 96 point rating from Wine Advocate, will be released next year.

Rasa Vineyards Principia 2007 $80

Rasa Vineyards is a new Walla Walla winery. This wine is named after Isaac Newton’s famous work ‘Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica.’ Latin for ‘Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy’, the work is often referred to simply as Principia. The name is a callout to the Naravane brother’s background in mathematics. Principia is a blend of Syrah from five different vineyards. This wine needs time to mature and show itself fully, but the results will be spectacular.

Cayuse Vineyards En Chamberlain 2008 Barrel Sample

There are some wines that, when I taste them, make me feel almost frightened. This is such a wine. When I think of this wine, the image of Michelangelo’s ‘The Creation of Adam’ appears in my head. Man and God coming imperceptibly close to touching. Despite its youth, the nose is lively and marked by earth, blood, violets, mineral, and smoked meat. The palate is about as close to perfect as I can conceive.

Winery of the Weekend – Of the wineries we visited, what one winery stood out for its entire line-up?

Gramercy Cellars – Writing about Gramercy Cellars earlier this year, I stated “If you are looking for a bandwagon on which to jump, now would be the time.” Today, I amend that statement. The sentiment was right but the analogy all wrong.  This was not an oncoming bandwagon but rather a rocket ship on the launch pad. Sampling through Gramercy’s current lineup, each wine is unique, compelling, extraordinary, and demanding of attention. This winery has achieved liftoff and is leaving the earth’s atmosphere. Where it will go, nobody knows, but it’s sure to be a fun ride.

Most Exciting New Winery – What new winery or winery you hadn’t visited before most excited you about Walla Walla wine?

Rasa Vineyards - Rasa Vineyards is a new winery founded by brothers Billo and Pinto Naravane. Rasa Vineyards currently makes two wines, one called Principia, described above, and one called QED. QED stands for Quod Erat Demonstratum which is often written in abbreviation at the end of a mathematical proof. It means essentially ‘I’ve proven what I set out to prove.’ If what the Naravane brothers set out to prove is that they can make exceptional syrah, the name could not be more appropriate. The proof is in the bottle.

Reynvaan Family Vineyards - Reynvaan Family Vineyards is a new Walla Walla winery. The family vineyard is located in the ‘Rocks’ region of the Walla Walla Valley AVA (can AVA status for this region be far off?). The vineyard is appropriately named ‘In the Rocks.’ The Reynvaan family recently established another vineyard by their picturesque family farm near the Blue Mountains. The initial releases from Reynvaan are two reds and one white wine. The Contender, the best of the three, is a compelling blend of Syrah and Marsanne. Tasting through the winery’s initial releases as well as barrel samples of next year’s wines, all are excellent with next year’s releases showing considerable additional maturity. While these wines show the thumbprint of consultant Christophe Baron, they are unique and show vineyard characteristics that only promise to become more intriguing as these young vines mature.

Party of the Weekend – Every winery pulls out all of the stops. Who put on the best show?

Robison Ranch Cellars – Robison Ranch is a new winery that was having its inaugural release party Fall Release Weekend. And was it ever. The winery is located on the family farm on Lower Waitsburg Road (off Hwy 12 east of downtown). Driving on the long dirt road leading to the ranch, I would never have imagined what awaited us. Inside one of the buildings was a full on party with a great band and a hundred or more people. This was no black tie event. Rather, hay bales served as seats. The winery had raffle giveaways every half-hour and had a roaring fire outside. What I loved about this party was that the family did it in their own style. Rather than bring in a local caterer, they had family and friends bring food. The result was by far (by far) the best spread of the weekend, including some to-die-for smoked salmon. This was a jubilant celebration of a winery’s first release and was the place to be.

WWWN comment: Robison Ranch Cellars is not open for Holiday Barrel 2009, however, their official launch will be Spring Release May 2010. Their website is currently in design and will be up shortly.

Disappointment of the Weekend – For all the highs, there must be some lows. These could be wines, wineries, or experiences. The question – What was your biggest disappointment of the weekend?

K Vintners – K Vintners was pouring out of the front room of the winery which made for extremely cramped quarters. We decided to leave after only sampling a couple of wines after practically having to crowd surf to the pouring tables. Another time I am afraid.

A full write-up of the weekend including tasting notes will be posted to my blog in December.

Sean P. Sullivan is editor of Washington Wine Report, an independent blog focused on bringing Washington wine to you and bringing you to Washington wine.

It is the bottle you grab when only you want a glass of wine with dinner.  Or when you just can’t bring yourself to open a more expensive wine when eating lasagna, pizza or hamburgers.  So when you find a great weekday wine, it is a treasure!

Walla Walla is chock full of great weekday wines as more wineries address the magic price point. Certainly, the premier spot needs to go to Tamarack Cellars Firehouse Red $20, a wine so popular they built their wine club on the premise that everyone needs at least a case in their cellar at all times.

Our current favorites are Mannina Cellars Sangiovese $22 and Saviah Cellars Jack $18. Another weekday staple, Balboa Winery has staked a claim on tasty red wines such as Cat’s Meow $20. If you are really lucky, your favorite mid-week restaurant’s house wines will be from Balboa.

No stranger to quaffable wines, Charles Smith of K Vintners perfected this concept with Magnificent Wine Company and then sold it to Precept Brands. As soon as he did, he started all over again with new black & white affordable labels.

Substance, a division of Waters Winery, has the cleverest labeling. Their budget-priced varietals are based on the chemistry table that stymied so many of us in college.

Rulo Winery is always in the running for great wines with terrific value.  Just down the road from them is Dusted Valley Vintners with their Boomtown Syrah and Merlot, both wines at $16.

Of course, we can’t forget Three-Legged Dog ($19) by Dunham Cellars and Kick Ass Red ($16) from Yellow Hawk Cellar.

More new wineries are offering wines in this price range. Don’t miss Cow Catcher Red $19 from Dumas Station Winery. This winery recently received 91 pts for their 2006 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon ($32) from Wine Spectator.  This weekend,  you can check them out at Merchant’s and even better, your tasting is complimentary.

Without a doubt,  there are many more,  so please send your favs.

In the meantime, it’s Thursday so raise your glass with a great weekday red wine!

Tasting wine around the airport in Walla Walla is an excellent way to spend a wine- tasting day.  Once referred to as the “wine ghetto of Walla Walla” by Esquire Magazine (not sure this is a compliment or not!) it certainly does offer delicious treasures for even the most serious of wine collectors.  With over 18 wineries open on a regular basis, you’ll easily discover something wonderful to drink for dinner or a fabulous bottle to stash in the cellar.

Port of Walla Walla Wine Incubators

Up on Piper Ave., the Winery Incubators are a ‘must-see’ and, if you have not yet visited this destination, put the incubators on your wine tasting itinerary this fall.   Five start-up wineries in nearly identical buildings are nestled together in one place, each offering something different in their style and varietals.  Cavu Cellars, Adamant Cellars, Lodmell Cellars, Trio Vintners and Kontos Cellars make up the village and between them have dozens of wines on hand to sample. Stop by on any given day and you’ll most likely be greeted by the winemaker, or be able to spy the work he or she does.  Like many of the wineries at the airport, all the winemaking’s done right there, within full view of the tasting rooms.

Be aware, however, that ‘start-up’ does not necessarily mean ‘new’. The truth is that none of these folks are new to winemaking – just the commercial businesses are. In order to lease a space at the incubators the winery must be brand new.  At the end of the 6 year lease the winery must move out and make way for a new ‘baby winery’. The bare bones buildings allow the winemakers to fashion their own styles in a professional atmosphere and grow their brands.   The resulting quality of wine made here is certainly on par with what you would expect from the wines of the region; excellent wines produced from quality fruit grown in the region and made with great care and passion.

Denise Slattery is one of the trio of winemakers and owners of Trio Vintners in Walla Walla, Wa.

However, it still came as a shock when we heard last week that Pepper Bridge and sister winery, Amavi would open a tasting room near the Hollywood School House. The venerable Pepper Bridge winery and vineyard by the same name has become synonymous with Walla Walla and its rarefied status as one of the premier wineries in our AVA.

The rationale is simple; a retail presence in Woodinville is the easiest way to reach the west-side population of wine consumers and introduce them to your brand. This is especially important for those labels who beefed up their wine production during the heady years of 2007 & 2008 and before the party stopped when the economy slowed down.

Fast forward to 2009. While an Eastern Washington tasting room may see anywhere from 5000 – 50,000 visitors a year (depending on brand awareness and location), wineries in Woodinville are able to tap into the many national and international visitors visiting Seattle each year. Upwards of 300, 000 visitors make Chateau Ste. Michelle a destination each year, according to a brochure obtained during a tour and tasting visit there several years ago.

What does this mean for Walla Walla? Probably not much. While our attraction as a premier wine destination may be grounded first in our wineries; it is also in our bucolic surroundings, our stunning Blue Mountain vistas, our agricultural heritage (of which grapes are the most recent crop), and our vibrant, renewed downtown.  In a sentence, our authentic wine country lifestyle.  For those of us who live here, we know it’s the real thing.

It remains to be seen if visiting a tasting room with a view of the sluggish slough or alongside a busy commuter road satisfies a wine consumer’s desire to touch the dirt that grows the grapes or if those wine visitors will accept an urban tasting room standing in as a facsimile of our wine country lifestyle.

The Fall Release Weekend is just around the corner and whether you are sage and savvy when it comes to wine weekends or perhaps a newbie, here are a few tips and reminders to help you make the most of your weekend.  First of all and most important: we are assuming that you already have your room reserved along with a few restaurant reservations, because blue tarp camping and staring pitiful at diners with reservations, while drooling on restaurant windows is never attractive.

So how will you survive such a busy weekend? My first suggestion is to head into Walla Walla with the mind set you are here to relax, learn a lot and have a great time.  Also, before you head out the door, take the time to print off a copy of the Walla Walla Wine News Fall Release Guide. This list will assist you in what to expect from the wineries regarding their new releases, activities and their hours for public tastings.  Need a map to the wineries?  Contact the Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance for their brochure or catch it online. You can also locate brochures at many of the wineries.

Now, that you have made your list of wineries to visit and checked it twice.  Here is where tourists and wineries are going to find out who’s naughty or nice.  My best advice is to relax. R-E-L-A-X and have a great time.  Be courteous and put your cell phone on voice mail, especially when you are in the wineries.  Are you really that important and if you are, perhaps your Secret Service or Royalty Protection people can answer your calls.

The mornings of wine tasting, walk away from the granola nibbles and enjoy a hearty breakfast. Oh yeah baby, it’s your excuse for biscuits and gravy!  Load up on carbs and proteins and hydrate-hydrate-hydrate! Hydrate with H2O all day! Don’t forget to take the time through the day to have a nosh here and there. Many of the wineries will be serving complimentary appetizers and offering food for purchase throughout the day.

Pace yourself from winery to winery and learn how to spit! It’s the only time momma would approve of you spitting in public.  Take notes of the wines you tasted and don’t be afraid to ask questions, especially if you are a wine newbie.  It’s important to keep an open mind to wines you have previously ignored or did not like, while remembering one winemaker’s chardonnay and vintage may not taste like another.  And while you are keeping an open mind, don’t be all locked into tasting only wines that have received 90-something points and above.  You never know when you may find an affordable treasure that will later be discovered and giving you the advantage of boasting to your wine peers, “I remember them when…”

Keep a realistic goal of how many wineries to visit in one day. The point of these events is to “taste” the wine and learn about the fruit of the area and the winemaker’s style. It’s always a good idea to have a designated driver, but having a designated driver doesn’t mean you have to deaden your taste buds. By the sixth winery visit, your taste buds will become fatigued and fuzzy. So the 25th wine you tasted in one day may taste very different the next time you taste it on a fresh palate.  And the most important reason for not tasting through every wine in the Walla Walla Valley?

We want you to have another reason to come back and visit us!

Catie McIntyre Walker is the original Walla Walla wine blogger at Walla Walla Grape Vine. After eight years of cleaning spit buckets and pouring for the masses in local tasting rooms, Catie hung up her cork screw to pursue her writing and open her online wine store, Walla Walla Wine Woman. Catie also writes a wine column for Walla Walla Union Bulletin’s magazine, “Lifestyles”, blogs for Tourism Walla Walla and is a contributor to Palate Press and Washington Tasting Room magazines.