Writing the rule book (Walla Walla Valley, Washington - Day 2)

As I mentioned in my previous post, the wine industry in Walla Walla is nothing if not progressive. A region that has really only been around for 15 years, they aren't so much in a revolution as an evolution, not a renaissance but a birth. As Charles Smith said to me the previous day, there are no rules here. They are all just trying to figure out what does well here, and they are so far ahead of the curve it isn't funny. Much like the winemakers in southern NSW these guys are getting access to amazing fruit in new viticultural areas and expressing wines that are both impetuous and yet refined. Is it any wonder that wine critics in Washington and the rest of the US are so excited about this place?

The Walla Walla Valley

Starting my day with the second oldest winery in Walla Walla, I tried the wines on offer at Woodward Canyon. Located right next door to L'Ecole, Woodward Canyon make two ranges of wine, the second under the Nelms Road brand. They are very classic style wines, the labels are certainly a reflection of this, as is the tasting room. They release a non-vintage red, not the first I have encountered so far, which is sensational for $20.

Woodward Canyon Red Wine & Nelms Road Merlot

Having visited several tasting rooms on the western side of town and in downtown, I headed south of town for some visits. The first was to visit Rasa Vineyards. Enamoured of the greatest wines in the world, brothers Pinot and Billo Navarane decided leave their careers in the computer industry to establish a world-class winery. Wanting to have their focus on syrah and bordeaux varieties, they searched many places throughout California and Washington, and decided to settle in Walla Walla. They are truly passionate guys, very pragmatic and scientific in their approaches, but understanding there is an art to viticulture and winemaking. Their philosophy and origins weave nicely into the wines, incorporating scientific principles into the names of their wines. The liquid contained within these bottles is gaining well-deserved attention, and they are going to get even better. Check out their blog and twitter; http://rasavineyards.com/

Billo and Pinto Navarane from Rasa Vineyards

QED Syrah (co-fermented with viognier)

Pepper Bridge and Amavi Cellars are connected by marriage, like so many great wine families in the world. The Goff and McKibbin families combined their businesses several years ago, and allowed Swiss-born Jean-Francois Pellet to oversee the winemaking for both brands. The focus for Pepper Bridge is on Bordeaux variety blends, whereas Amavi tends to be a mixture of varieties. The vineyards at Pepper Bridge looked very fatigued and under stress, with very dry leaves and shriveled shoots. Apparently Pepper Bridge have suffered a number of devastating frosts which have destroyed vines. With quite significant diurnial shifts between day night temperatures being further from the coast, frosts are common in spring and autumn, very dangerous periods in the vine life cycle.

The new optical sorter in use at Pepper Bridge

The Amavi Tasting Room in Walla Walla

Further confirmation of the progressive nature of Walla Walla was discovered to the east of town. In an area that used to be a US Airforce training base are a number of small wineries and tasting rooms. The grid on which the streets are located are either numbered like every town and city, or they are named after a plane model. The local council built five "wine incubators" for start-up producers to make their wine and sell direct to wine tourists. The lease lasts for six years, so they need to grow fast. The winery I visited had pretty poor wines, a nice reminder that not all the wines produced here are good.

Port of Walla Walla Wine Incubators

Walla Walla Airport Wine Incubators

Heading out through town I called on Corliss winery where the senior winemaker is Australian. Andrew Trio, a Perthian(?), graduated from Adelaide Uni in 2005, and has spent several years working in California and Washington. He's in a pretty enviable position, as Corliss is a winery that has had serious investment from it's owners, and has some amazing toys. Apart from the standard French Oak fermenters, sorting tables, and bottling line, he also has the first cement egg fermenter I have ever seen. The winery was pretty busy processing fruit, and I wish I had been staying in Walla Walla to hang out, but I had to keep going.

Corliss winemaker Andrew Trio

I call him Humpty

The largest private-owned winery which makes numerous brands is located on the western side of town. The facility and tasting room are amazing, quite new. Waterbrook was the original winery in the Walla Walla Valley, but is now part of the Precept group, the second largest wine company in Washington after Chateau Ste. Michelle. The wines are very good commercial examples, but they taste better in the modern and spacious tasting room.

Waterbrook Tasting Room

Whilst visiting wineries in Walla Walla was really cool, and there are some awesome people in the this part of the world, I feel that there aren't enough Walla Walla wines out there. Maybe they are all really hard to get and expensive. Hopefully I'll try more in the future. For now I'll have to remember this part of the world for it's groundbreaking vintners...

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I'm so excited and I think I like it (Walla Walla Valley, Washington - Day 1)

Way down in the cocoon of Melbourne there isn't a lot of North American wine available. It's mostly either Californian, Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, or Inniskillin. So in this environment I had no idea that the Walla Walla Valley is the most exciting place for wine in the entire United States. In doing research just before I came across I found a video of online wine phenomenon Gary Vaynerchuk stating that Walla Walla is the best region for wine, angering many in the Napa Valley. Having visited for the first time yesterday I am tempted to agree with him.

http://garyvaynerchuk.com/

The Walla Walla Valley had grape vines introduced by Italian migrants back in the mid-1800s but like everywhere else, the first bonded winery wasn't founded until after prohibition in 1950. The Pesciallo family who founded Blue Mountain Vineyards were certainly way ahead of their time, as they didn't survive and vines weren't then planted until the 1970s. Walla Walla went unnoticed for almost thirty years until the mid '90s when there were less than 10 wineries, and a number of wines started to get rave reviews. This started a serious boom in the region, to the point that there are now about 160 wineries sourcing fruit from the entire Columbia Valley & Walla Walla AVA. This is a region seriously on the move, so pay attention.

L'Ecole No 41 Tasting Room

One of the oldest wineries in the region is L'Ecole No 41, founded in 1983. Possibly the most prominent Walla Walla winery in the market, they are named after the schoolhouse that is located on the same property as the winery, which was originally built in 1915. L'Ecole were one of the wineries that put the region on the map, and have grown significantly in the last 10 years to meet demand. The tasting room is located in the schoolhouse, and has a very studious feeling to it. There are two ranges of wine, one which uses Columbia Valley fruit at an entry level price-point, and the Walla Walla Valley wines which range from $19 to $49. It was great to be introduced to the region with such a solid and established performer, particularly as I was given some great advice on where to visit, and had an appointment lined up for my next visit.

L'Ecole No 41 Schoolhouse

Allen Shoup is considered a true pioneer in the Washington wine industry, working at Chateau Ste Michelle for 20 years. He established Long Shadows in the Walla Walla Valley in 2002 with  with a visionary ideal; to identify the best sites for the best varieties and wines in Washington. In an effort to achieve this he designed a built a world class winery, and then invited world class winemakers from around the world, famous for particular wine styles. To make his riesling he invited a German (Armin Diel), to make his sangiovese blend he invited a pair of Tuscan brothers (Ambrogio & Giovanni Folonari), and to make his merlot blend he invited a Pomerol expert (Michel Rolland). John Duval makes the syrah, as he is famous for crafting Penfold's Grange for 16 years. Each wine has a distinctive brand identity and is designed to be the best in it's class. The wines are exceptional, showing the potential of this area. The riesling and merlot stood out for me, as did the very classy modern tasting room.

Long Shadows Tasting Room

Reininger is a winery not far out of Walla Walla that make a large range of wines that are all very well priced. They are using varieties that are both common (classic French), and uncommon (sangiovese and carmenere). The tasting room is quite large and well located by the freeway, on the way into town I could imagine it would be quite busy on weekends. I may have been a bit too abstract as I was tasting as my host was not used to the Australian sense of humour.

Reininger Merlot

My timing in Walla Walla wasn't great, as not only are they in the middle of vintage, but most tasting rooms are only open Thursday to Sunday. Even tasting rooms in downton Walla Walla were depressingly closed as I drove past. One of the exceptions is the King of Walla Walla, Charles Smith. With about $5,000 in his pocket and a crazy dream Charles Smith came to Walla Walla to start a wine company. He is now one the most important figures in the Washington wine industry, and one of the most striking with his Sideshow Bob hair and frank attitudes. Charles Smith is my kind of crazy, a truly intuitive (self-taught) winemaker and marketer. His wines and their packaging reflect his character, very wild and against the mainstream. He undeniably has a well deserved ego, but thankfully these don't intervene in the wines themselves, they are balanced and textured with great food-friendly elegance. I'm sure working for Charles would be both challenging and thrilling, as he seems like the kind of passionate person who demands the best that he aspires to. If I could compare him to someone in the Australian wine industry, it would be Phil Sexton.

King Coal and The Creator (aka Charles Smith)

Charles Smith Tasting Room in downtown Walla Walla

The awesome Kristin Fish at the Charles Smith Tasting Room made some calls on my behalf to various winemakers around the area, and so I headed off to the Artifex commercial wine making facility on the outskirts of town. This custom crush house is designed to accommodate a number of smaller wine brands that cannot afford their own facility but need access to equipment and barrel storage. It is amazingly collaborative and very progressive, a theme I consistently picked up in the valley. I met with Brian Rudin, the winemaker for Middleton Family Wines, who produce brands like Cadaretta and Clayhouse. A young, energetic and honest winemaker, Brian sources fruit from all over the Columbia Valley for his wines, like most of Walla Walla. I got the opportunity to join Brian and his team as they assessed many of their ferments in various stages, and it showed how variable the vintage conditions were. I also got to crush some cabernet to check the brix, perfect ripeness.

Brian Rudin and his team check some ferments

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