Walla Walla is known for wheat, wine, Whitman College and Walla Walla sweets (onions). We went for the wine. However, our first excursion was a road bike ride from Walla Walla to Waitsburg. The entire forty mile loop passed through wheat fields. Miles and miles of bread, pasta and pizza...your flour very likely came from this region. Much of the wheat travels by train to docks in Seattle destined for overseas customers. An acre generally produces 120 bushels. This year the yield was 140 per acre.
After the grain is harvested by enormous combines, it is loaded into trucks and delivered to grain elevators. The grain is dumped from the truck into a hole in the ground that resembles a drain grate. The elevator then carries it up into the silo for storage. The pleasant aroma of wheat is everywhere.
In comparison, wine production in the region covers only a minor amount of acreage. An acre of vines produces between 2 and 15 tons of grapes. On average yield is 5 tons, which translates into 4,000 bottles of wine. There are over 100 wineries and 1500 acres of vineyards in the Walla Walla region.
Philip and I spent an afternoon touring vineyards and tasting wine. Our first stop was a very small winery right in town, El Corazon. We tasted four wines and had a barrel tasting. El Corazon, like many wineries, owns or leases rows of vines at privately own vineyards in the region.
Next we went to Garrison Creek Cellars. Here, you tour an incredible "barn" that houses their winery, cellars and tasting room. The wine maker likes to say that he was given an unlimited budget to build the facility and he managed to exceed it. As a teenager, he and the vineyard owner worked the same fields. Then the crop was peas.
In the cellar for a barrel tasting with the winemaker, David, and other guests.
Our Cabernet Cab, the magic van that delivered us safely from one winery to the next. Don't attempt a day of tasting unless you have a designated driver. Really. The pours are generous and you often have 5-8 wines to sample. Tastings are generally five dollars or free if you make a purchase. We sampled four additional wineries: Castillo de Feliciana, Beresan, Balboa and Saviah Cellars. My tongue was purple and fatigued.
Walla Walla is cute little town with a lot of charm. The downtown has retained it's original character and now houses tasting rooms, galleries, shops and good restaurants. Saturday and Sunday mornings there is an extensive Farmer's Market and in the afternoons there is live music downtown.
So, you have bread (wheat) and good wine. What more do you need? Cheese! This woman's farm produces excellent goat cheeses, smelly but creamy and delicious.
In closing, I'd just like to say that this post must contain a record number of w's and that Walla Walla is a lot more fun to say than it is to write.
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