Wine tasting is always a good time, but wine tasting with family is a GREAT time! This past weekend, my wife and I drove out to spend the weekend in Walla Walla for a wine tasting getaway, and my brother and sister-in-law, who live in Willamette Valley, Oregon, drove up to share in the excursion. While we are both spoiled to live in our own respective “wine countries”, it is always fun to venture out and sample the other amazingness our PNW has to offer.

Friday night - Stop 1: Lodmell Cellars
            Whenever we visit Walla Walla, we love to stay at the Marcus Whitman hotel, not only for its old timey luxury charm, but its amazing location in the heart of downtown, 1 block from 30 or so tasting rooms! It also has 4 tasting rooms in the building right off the lobby! So, while waiting for my brother to arrive, we passed the time at Lodmell Cellars, a small production winery with big and beautiful wines that really showcase the best of Columbia Valley. While the tasting flight was amazing, the one wine that really stopped me in my tracks was their 2015 Merlot. Dark and fruity, with black cherries and chocolate mixed with honey and cedar on the palette. I loved it so much, I bought their 2007 vintage out of the library collection, anticipating an even more amazing bottle with 8 more years behind it. Randy, our tasting room hostess was super nice and provided lots of great info about the wines, their history, and was just a very cool person to chat with!

Saturday – Stop 2: Balboa Winery
            Located in the southside district, close to the state line, is Balboa Winery. A ridiculously beautiful property nestled into the pepper bridge vineyard and surrounded by grapes in a sort of valley of deliciousness. The tasting room had an awesome remodeled barn feel, and with winery dogs running around, I was sold. The winery, named after the “rocky” terrain in which their vines are grown in “The Rocks District”, Rocks = Rocky = Rocky Balboa = Balboa Winery. A fun play on the landscape that crafts so man beautiful wines in the south of Walla Walla valley. Rebecca took great care of us, and as a wine educator herself, explained a great deal about the wines and provided a wonderful experience for us. She also teaches her own curriculum in their “Wine library” on site, so be sure to go see her and take part in their library vertical tastings! My favorite wines here were their 2020 Gruner Veltliner, a typically uncommon grape in this area, but Balboa makes a very crisp and refreshing wine with it, and the Stone River Red Blend, which is essentially south Walla Walla in a bottle. Big, bold, fruity and perfect tannins that was still enjoyable on a hot summer day outside.

Stop 3: Sleight of Hand Cellars
            Conveniently located right across the street from Balboa is my favorite little spot, Sleight of Hand. I first came here for the first time on my original Walla Walla trip but left a member and huge advocate for this amazing and probably the most fun winery I’ve ever been to. Imagine hanging out in your favorite record store, music swag all over the place, and oh by the way, their wines are amazing. Not to mention the staff, both here and in their SODO location, are just about the coolest people ever. I had an allocation to pick up and felt it necessary to hang out and showcase one of my favorite spots to my brother. Scott took great care of us, pouring all my favorites including their Riesling, which is what led me to them in the first place. I also got to see Traci who manages the tasting room and is the biggest sweetheart. She hooked me up and got me booked to stay in their on-site house rental for later this fall, so if you’re a member of SofH, be sure to ask about staying at the guest house!!! Did I mention the wine here is absolutely killer???

Stop 4: Doubleback
            I need to preface this with a few quick facts. First, I’m a New Englander which means I LOVE the New England Patriots. It also so happens that the first NE Quarterback I was introduced to as a kid was…you guessed it… Drew Bledsoe. Drew is from Walla Walla and when he retired from the NFL, he took up the family business of sorts (farming) and started Doubleback. Since getting into wine years ago, I knew I had to come out here and once I moved to WA, I was closer than ever, but the reservation waiting list was brutal. Finally, I made it happen this weekend and got to bring my family along for the pilgrimage as well! Doubleback is one of the more exclusive and expensive wineries in the state, and I don’t mention this to brag about going, but because wine enthusiasts should know what to expect when visiting. The property is beautiful, situated on the southeast side of town and overlooking the hills and vineyards where their grapes reside. We started our visit with a tour of the facility, seeing their warehouse space and production area, the Italian concrete tanks that house their juice, and the barrel room, with a newly added hosting space which would be awesome for events, or my next birthday party (cough cough wifey). After the tour, we were brought to the rooftop seating area and had a perfect 360 view of the surrounding fields and hillsides. Along with a complimentary cheese plate, we were able to taste the 2017 and 2019 Doubleback Cabernet Sauvignon, the flagship wine for the winery. Not much more can be said about their Cabernet other than its practically perfect. The best expression of WA Cabernet, and a thick, fruity, and bold wine with plum, blackberries, pepper, and vanilla on the palette. It has a super nice finish, and the tannins do amazing things when paired with Manchego cheese. Again, this isn’t a cheap experience, and the 2 side-by-side tastings will run you $50 per person, with their wine coming in at $100+ a bottle as well. It’s a very high-quality wine and not mass produced, but it’s better to know what you’re getting into when you visit. For a fan of Bledsoe and a fan of great wine, it was an easy decision, and I couldn’t be happier that we went!

To be continued…..