Walla Walla Itinerary - 8/28
Walla Walla was once the Washington Territory's capital stretching from the Olympic Peninsula and Puget sound, over the Cascade Mountains to the dry Columbia Plateau and rolling Palouse Hills. Walla Walla has been home to tribes, missionaries, fur traders, the Hudson's Bay Company, Idaho gold rushers, U.S. cavalry, and briefly by Lewis & Clark and the Corps of Discovery.
Walla Walla (named by local tribes as the land of many waters) is nestled into a valley in the Blue Mountain's foothills. It features rich fertile soils from years of glacial flooding, which suits many fruits, vegetables, and grains.
Italian immigrants planted vineyards four generations ago, and one of those descendants started the first winery. The first Walla Walla wine was released in 1977 by Leonetti Cellar.
The Perfect Day
9:45 a.m. pick-up from the Marcus Whitman Hotel
10:00 a.m. Itä Winery (4)
600 Piper Ave — Fee: $10 pp (waived with purchase)
Itä is just one of just a handful of women-owned wineries in Walla Walla. Kelsey is focused on classic Walla Walla varietals grown in the cooler foothills of the Valley. One site is the Les Collines Vineyard (around Garrison Creek Cellars), as well as a Pinot Noir site just south of the Oregon border.
11:15 a.m. depart for Monteillet Fromagerie
Enjoy a 30-minute drive through the rolling Palouse on the way to your next stop located in the Touchet Valley! Lewis and Clark took this route and camped just outside the little town of Dayton, Washington.
11:45 a.m. Monteillet Fromagerie (4)
109 Ward Rd., Dayton, WA Fee: $25 pp
Enjoy a genuinely French-inspired afternoon sampling cheese on a 32-acre farm and fromagerie. Bubbling with hospitality and artistry is Joan Monteillet. You will be seated all together for an afternoon of sampling, savoring, and conviviality.
Served alongside the cheese tasting, Jenna will provide a Walla Walla wine tasting seminar. The focus will be new and innovative producers. Wine tasting fee is $30 per person. The cheese and wine tasting fees can be added to the tour fee or paid by cash.
LUNCH
Brasserie Four at the fromagerie. Enjoy a selection of charcuterie, pate, salads, and pizza.
2:15 p.m. Grosgrain Vineyards (4)
2158 Half Acre Ln, Walla Walla — Fee $15 pp. (waived with purchase)
Grosgrain Vineyards is one of the new kids on the block and boy are they fresh. They offer a diverse array of wine varietals including sparkling, rose, white and red. They do a range of small-batch wines that sell out very quickly—especially their Pet-Nat! From their tastefully appointed facility look out over the rows of Nebbiolo, Aglianico, Grenache and Carignan. Can you tell one of the owners is a designer? Yes!
3:30 p.m. Rotie Cellars (4)
84328 Trumbull Ln, Milton-Freewater — Fee $30 pp. (waived with $50 purchase)
If you want funky, terroir-driven, Rhone-style wines, you need look no further. Set in the Rocks District AVA estate vineyards, you can enjoy a great variety of distinctive wines all with the same earthy character. In summers they show off their selection of crisp Rhone whites from Washington state, as well as their flagship red blends. Tastings can be easily shared here or the group can enjoy a glass of wine.
5:00 p.m. - return to Marcus Whitman Hotel