Dad got me interested in wine, many years ago by introducing me to V. Sattui’s Gamay Rouge. This wine is ruby colored, fruity, and something about it makes it seem ever-so-slightly carbonated to me (even though it is not). I had never cared for white wines (I’d only had Chardonnay) or red-wines (I’d only had Burgandy or Cabernet), but Gamay Rouge was something I could get behind.
I started to dabble in Italian wines and found that there were indeed white and red wines I loved. It turns out – I don’t really care for oak. Then, Big-Bro, Sis-in-law, Dad, and Step-mom met hubby and I in Napa and I discovered that I like oak if it is in a really really good bottle of wine and I like Chardonnay if it is “buttery.”
This trip I found the closest thing to Gamay Rouge that I’ve tried so far in Walla Walla. It is Waterbrook Sangiovese Rosé. A lot of folks make fun of Rosé, but when you get your hands on a good one you’ll find it is delightful, refreshing, and beautiful. It is a bright summer afternoon in a glass.
The other wineries we hit in Walla Walla were ones I consider Walla Walla “musts.” The L’Ecole tasing room is set in a restored school house in the old town of Frenchtown, now known as Lowden. It is worth visiting the winery just to check out the restored building, but also their Apogee and Perigee offer intersting wines that are a bit different.
Three Rivers probably has the prettiest estate I’ve visited in the region. However, it is the most “Napa’ized” I guess I’d say. It has pourers who know less about the wines than the other places and who tend to rush through the tasting. On the plus side, I really do like the Late Harvest Gewürztraminer. I also purchsed a bottle of Grenache, because I’m trying to “understand” Grenache. I’ll keep you posted on how that goes.
Other wines to mention are the wines we opted to drink with dinner. The entire group whole-heartedly agreed on Yellow Hawk Cellar Sangiovese and Barbera with every meal (well, not breakfast … but if it had been available for breakfast who knows what would have happened).
We didn’t make it to my favorite spot – K Vintners, because the tasting room is only open one day a week. However, this is the only Walla Walla area winery where we’ve purchased an entire case. Not being big on wine terms, I’d just say that these guys make robust wine. They make wines that are my “week-day wines” which make a crappy day at work fade away in a haze of rich spice and they make wines that are my “special occasion wines” that just … well, like their website says … kick my ass.
That’s this Oenophile’s tour of the Walla Walla valley. There are lots more wines to taste out there. Who knows, maybe one of those days one of those wines you taste will bear my own Unispired label – if the goddess Oeno smiles upon me.