Walla Walla Meets Arkansas

On Sunday June 1st, my friend Joel Harrison and I decided to introduce Arkansas to the Walla Walla Valley.  My new colleague Joel was in the middle of a 9 day visit to Washington State and was interested in experiencing some Walla Walla wine…so that’s where I come in.   At 10:30 am, we headed out to enjoy some of the finer wines of Southeast Washington.  Our 1st stop was Woodward Canyon Winery.  Tasting only the reds, as per always, the wines here were well crafted and very enjoyable.  At the end of our tasting I was compelled to leave with a bottle of the 2016 Old Vines, Cabernet Sauvignon.  It has a TON of potential to evolve in my cellar, but is really approachable now.

The next stop was Reininger Winery.  The staff allowed us to taste any and all reds that we wished, and our tasting could not have gone any better!  Between the Reininger and Helix labels, the wines are diverse and really nicely made.  My two favorites on this day included the Desiderata and the 2015 Walla Walla Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.

Our 3rd stop was…..wait for it….have patience…..yes indeed…..Long Shadows Vintners!  Joel didn’t fly all this way to ignore the Crème de la Crème of the Walla Walla Valley did he?!?!  No he didn’t.  So this was the place where Joel decided to put some money down and begin adding some deliciousness to his Razorback wine cellar back in the Natural State!  He ended up purchasing almost one of everything!  Let’s see, that included a 2017 Pinot Gris based Rosé (Julia’s Dazzle), the Poet’s Leap 2017 Riesling, a 2016 Sequel (Columbia Valley Syrah), a 2015 Chester-Kidder (red blend), and a 2016 Super Tuscan style “blend” of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah.  Joel certainly hit the Motherlode!

From the outskirts of Walla Walla we decided to cut across the West side and head directly to the South side of Walla Walla for our 4th stop of the day, where the newest and one of the area’s most immaculate tasting rooms now resides.  I hadn’t visited this place, so both Joel and I were in for quite an experience.   Valdemar Estates opened on April 27th and was designed and built by a Spanish wine making family who decided to venture out and open up a winery in Walla Walla, bringing Rioja region wines to Washington State.  Their facility is absolutely amazing, and truly state-of-the-art, from the lighting, woodwork, furnishings and outstanding views to the enticing food menu and the diverse array of Spanish imported wine offerings.  Of arguably more importance than the ambiance, the winemaker – Marie-Eve Gilla – comes with an outstanding pedigree in wine and happens to be the wife of Gilles Nicault, the man responsible for the amazing wines at our 3rd stop, and director of winemaking and viticulture at Long Shadows Vintners.  We tasted two different flights (7 wines total for each of us) and the pours were more than generous!  The food was outstanding and paired nicely with the various Spanish reds.  The experience was well worth the price and we very much enjoyed our visit to Walla Walla’s newest tasting room addition.

The final stop of the day was another of my all-time favorite wine tasting destinations.  Seven Hills Winery.  We left the South side and drove into downtown Walla Walla to finish our day with some outstanding reds.  The three main tastes focused on all Walla Walla Valley crafted reds – a 2017 Cabernet Franc, a 2016 Merlot and a 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon.  They also allowed us to taste a 2016 Ciel du Cheval (Red Mountain) Bordeaux-style blend and a 2016 McClellan Estate Vineyard Malbec as well.  All in all, the tasting was great and Joel ended up buying a bottle each of the last two wines, which were amazing.  We finally had to leave because we had some prime rib eyes waiting for us to grill upon our triumphant return to the Tri Cities!  Cheers and Bon Appétit!

Aaron Diaz
aaronswinechronicles@aol.com