Joe Schneid, party of 6 - The Perfect Day! October 2, 2024
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
Your driver and guide for the day is Cheryl. (206) 979-6489
~10:30-45 a.m. pickup at 128 Eagan Street
11:00 a.m. — Echolands Estate Winery
3281 Mill Creek Rd, Walla Walla, WA 99362
Tasting $20pp, waived with purchase of 2 bottles
After a lot of excitement and buzz, the flagship Echolands Estate winery is finally open and serving expectant tasters from across the US. Echolands was created in 2018 by Brad Bergman and Doug Frost, two Kansas City residents who believed in the Walla Walla Valley AVA’s ability to offer a distinct style of wine, one that would benefit from aging. In 2023, Echolands was proud to announce Brian Rudin as head winemaker. The group crafts responsibly produced wines that reflect the potential for elegant and balanced wines from this singular place.
Your stop at Echolands will include a behind-the-scenes harvest tour with grape sampling and tank tastings.
1:15 p.m. — The Walls
1015 W Pine Street — Tasting Fee: $35pp, waived with $75 purchase
The Walls was originally meant as a play on the Washington State Penitentiary, Walla Walla’s least talked about but perhaps most notorious landmark, and one that looms just down the street from their production facility. The Walls’ modern tasting room features a selection of premium wines from rosé to highly scored Cabernet. Ask for a flight of their second label, Pâšxa. These wines highlight the Rocks District Vineyards of the Walla Walla Valley.
We’ll have lunch here, courtesy of Curated Walla Walla. Choose from a menu of wood-fired pizzas, sandwiches, local produce and more. Please let us know of any dietary restrictions.
3:30 p.m. — Rotie
84328 Trumbull Ln, Milton-Freewater — Fee $30 pp. (waived with $50 purchase)
If you want 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.
The tasting experience at Rôtie includes a rare side-by-side tasting of Syrah clone varietals.
At the end of the tasting at Rotie, we can drop you at one of our favorite tasting rooms downtown, or deliver you back to your lodgings.