The Valley’s trailblazer wineries Waterbrook, L’Ecole No. 41 and Seven Hills continue a tradition of excellence, joined by modern contemporaries The Walls, Caprio Cellars and Long Shadows
NOT so long ago, the Walla Walla Valley was known as a farming community, college town and home of the eponymous sweet onion. Established as an AVA in 1984 with a handful of founding pioneer wineries in existence at the time, this region now has more than 120 wineries and boasts nearly 3,000 acres of vineyards.
With six different wine districts, tasting rooms can be found in every direction. First-time visitors may want to explore it using the expertise of a local tour company. Tesla Winery Tours provides tours of local wineries and tasting rooms in the comfort of a brand-new Tesla. Owner Chris Wood worked in the Walla Walla wine industry for years and cheerfully shares insights with his clientele.
Stay in Style
THE Marcus Whitman Hotel, a storied landmark anchoring historic downtown Walla Walla, offers sophisticated old-world luxury lodgings. With 133 well-appointed guest rooms, it is the perfect place to relax and enjoy a romantic wine country getaway.
Originally built in a classic architectural style in 1928, this 13-story hotel was fully restored in 2001. The hotel is known for friendly service and spacious accommodations. Its famous Marc Restaurant features a “winery of the month” tasting menu. Its location is in walking distance of more than 20 tasting rooms, including six right off the main lobby.
Join us for a tour of six quintessential Walla Walla wineries that include a few of the Valley’s original pioneers and modern contemporaries.
Waterbrook Winery
MANY of the older wineries still in operation are on the Westside Wine District of the Walla Walla Valley. Waterbrook Winery was the fourth bonded winery in Walla Walla founded in 1984.
For decades, this winery has been a steady draw for wine aficionados. Panoramic views of the spacious grounds, a large koi pond, and the beautiful Blue Mountains in the background provide a scenic setting, complete with a bocce ball court for those wishing to linger over a game or two.
Culinary offerings from the full-service kitchen include appetizers, sides and a full lunch menu, including a new, smoked salmon dish.
Waterbrook 2018 Icon Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, 94 pts.Marked by a profile of coffee bean, dill, dark fruit and cinnamon spice, this supple red is full of extracted black cherry and dried blackberry flavors. Silky tannins ride high atop the pure, elegant structure with persistent finishing accents of black licorice, loam and dusty tobacco. Give this at least an hour to decant. $50
Smooth and aromatic, with an upfront display of blue plum and blackberry expressions highlighted with peppercorn, juniper berry, vanilla and bright violet notes that add pizzazz on the finish. $15
Guests can choose to sample from the winery’s ICON label, its Reserve wines, or a combination of two ICON and two Reserve wines. Flights include four 3-ounce pours (the equivalent of two glasses of wine).
Winemaker John Freeman is a former Napa Valley transplant. He selects the best performing lots of each vintage from Waterbrook’s 185-acre estate vineyard, or grapes sourced from long-standing vineyard partners.
No matter what selection guests choose from, wines are true to varietal character, food-friendly and deliver uncompromising quality. “This is what Washington tastes like,” exclaims John Freeman. “Waterbrook is a value winery—we make a great bottle of wine, but we don’t charge Napa prices.”
Open daily for tastings, reservations are highly encouraged due to the popularity of the kitchen, which has built a strong reputation for hospitality.
L’Ecole Nº 41
WEST of Waterbrook in nearby Lowden is another one of Walla Walla Valley’s earliest established wineries. Founded in 1983, L’Ecole No 41 is a third-generation winery, owned by the Clubb family and operated by co-owners Marty, Megan, Riley, and Rebecca. Few in the region understand the local history of Walla Walla viticulture and enology better than Marty Clubb. “We’re proud to have been on the ground floor of the Walla Walla wine industry,” he says.
Marty has been L’Ecole’s managing winemaker since 1989 and the family wines enjoy international acclaim. “L’Ecole began to build a worldly reputation when I was among a small group of winemakers, led by Steve Burns, executive director for the Washington Wine Commission, that went to London in 1998. There we conducted a wine tasting for an audience of influential wine critics who began to see the quality of Washington wines.”
L’Ecole Nº 41 2018 Seven Hills Vineyard Syrah, 92 pts.
Plush and rich, this red is sophisticated, brimming with expressive black fruit, boysenberry and violet flavors draped over savory layers of roasted espresso, cocoa and earthen spice. Flecks of iron minerality persist on the powerful finish. $37
Minerally notes go into overdrive on this lively white, leading with aromas of flower blossoms, citrus, crème fraiche and fresh-mown grass. Flavors of yellow apple, apricot, limestone and tarragon notes wind seamlessly through the expressive finish. $16
In 2014, Decanter’s panel of international judges recognized L’Ecole’s 2011 Ferguson Red Wine as the Best in Show Bordeaux varietals in its category. And the 2013 vintage was awarded the International Trophy for Best New World Bordeaux Blend by the Six Nations Wine Challenge in 2016.
Set in the historic Frenchtown schoolhouse in Lowden, guests love the charm of L’Ecole. The old chalkboard and lovingly restored hardwood floors are prominent features of the downstairs tasting room. Flights are served one glass at a time, while seated at one of the comfortable classroom tables. The tasting room focuses on serving estate wines. “People really appreciate tasting our estate wines because we’re producing Bordeaux blends from the Pepper Bridge, Seven Hills, and Ferguson vineyards,” says Marty. “They’re tasting and drinking wines grown and made right here in the valley.”
L’Ecole recently opened the Heritage Wine Bar, open daily, in downtown Walla Walla adjacent to the Marcus Whitman Hotel where visitors can enjoy unique flights or wine by the glass.
The Walls Vineyards
TAKE it from Stanley Groovy—the intellectual looking cartoon character that frequently appears on The Walls’ wine bottle labels—owner Mike Martin and his team are dedicated to producing world-class wines in a manner consistent with their earth-friendly ethos. For starters, the winery employs solar energy technology, eco-friendly packaging, and offers an electric car charging station. Committed to crafting wines that reflect a sense of place, grapes are sourced from sustainably operated vineyard sites in both the Walla Walla Valley and nearby Eastern Washington AVAs.
The sleek, modern designed tasting room is located in town. It features an efficient serving bar, glass-enclosed barrel room, table seating for tastings, and lots of natural light flowing in through the front windows and glass doors. Comfortable patio seating is also available.
The Walls 2019 The Ramparts GSM, 93 pts.
This is 100% free-run juice, offering an ethereal mouthfeel and notable structure. Commanding, with expressive garrigue, black pepper, juniper berry, red cherry, violet and rose petal. Hints of bay leaf and dried raspberry enliven the finish. $42
Heady and terroir-driven with aromas of smoldering earth, dark berries and blood orange that roll onto the rich, textural palate, joined by cascading layers of black currant, dark plum, cured olive, leather and spice. Crushed rock accents extend far onto the concentrated finish. Made from 100% free-run juice. $48
A typical tasting flight includes several glasses aligned on a table with a tasting sheet beneath them. The server pours one Rosé, one white and three reds, expertly describing the characteristics of each, and of course, just as importantly, the sources from which they came. Wines are served in Sophienwald glasses, “the best wine glasses,” according to the friendly servers at The Walls.
The onsite kitchen features food carefully curated to pair beautifully with the wines and includes such items as French flatbread, pork rillette, fine cheese and a charcuterie plate. A private tasting room can be reserved for parties. The hospitality team strives to make every guest feel at home.
Caprio Cellars
WHEN Dennis Murphy purchased a Walla Walla wheat field in 2003, he envisioned a winery where he could make world-class wines.
As a Napa wine lover, he knew that Cabs and Merlot grown in Walla Walla could stand up to Napa wines. By 2008 he had harvested his first estate-grown crop and named his inaugural red wine Eleanor, in homage to his Italian grandmother. Today, the Eleanor Estate Red Wine, a Bordeaux inspired blend, remains his flagship wine.
Dennis opened the doors to Caprio Cellars in 2019. “I wanted to create an experience for my guests, not just open another tasting room,” he says. Hospitality begins when visitors are greeted outside on the porch with a glass of sparkling wine. Caprio conducts four tastings a day, by reservation only, with no more than 20 people per seating, which allows for a relaxed and exclusive wine experience.
Caprio Cellars 2019 Eleanor Estate Red Wine, 93 pts.
Dense and firm, packed with chewy tannins and a potent mix of cigar box, black and red fruit, currant and dried basil. Delivers a powerhouse structure that ends with cunning elegance. $48
This Bordeaux varietal red offers hefty power and style, with gobs of macerated black cherry, plum and dark currant flavors at the core, layered with cedar, rock and violet notes. Robust tannins find polished footing on the concentrated finish. $48
The modern, elegant tasting room offers expansive views of the surrounding vineyards. Guests are served flights one glass at a time in an immersive ninety-minute tasting experience. Through a focus on hospitality, guests gain a genuine feeling of being at ease while wine tasting.
Tasting flights are complimentary, yet Caprio takes their hospitality a step further offering seasonally inspired bites (prepared onsite) with every tasting.
Long Shadows Vintners
IF there is an award for elegantly decorated tasting rooms, then Long Shadows deserves it at their Chihuly Tasting Room in Walla Walla. Here the stunning glass and ceramic art of Dale Chihuly greets visitors in eye-catching colors of red, greens and yellows as they enter. Natural light pours into the tasting room from large windows reflecting about the room off the enormous, flower-like blown glass sculptures.
Like the views from inside the tasting room, those from outside on the expansive patio are equally impressive. In fact, founder Alan Shoup bought the property for the views. Alan and winemaker Gilles Nicault developed strong relationships with their growers early on and source all their grapes from exceptional vineyards.
Long Shadows Vintners 2017 Chester-Kidder Red Wine, 94 pts.Expressive aromas of brooding black fruit and pencil shavings gain clarity and power on the supple mouthfeel. Sinewy tannins and polished acidity weave through seductive blackberry, licorice, black tea and gravel notes that remain sharply ingrained on the deep, lengthy finish. $65
Vibrant, displaying a standout texture, leading with aromas of grapefruit, meadow grass and passionfruit. The rich mouthfeel brings deeper notes of mango, white peach, ginger and lemon twist that resonate with mineral notes on the finish. Sourced from a trio of renowned vineyards, Gamache, Boushey and Bacchus. $35
Winemaker Gilles Nicault, who trained in Bordeaux, respects the fruit and the terroir. Guests love the seminars and more intimate events such as the winemaker dinners, where his buoyant personality shines.
Reservations are strongly recommended for groups of all sizes. The tasting room has operated this way for a number of years; it allows the tasting room staff to slow down the pace. However, drop-ins are welcomed if the schedule allows. Like the founding of the winery, a collaborative spirit engages visitors as founder Allen Shoup did with his winemaking vintners.
Seven Hills Winery
AS the fifth winery to establish in the region back in 1988, Seven Hills helped champion Walla Walla’s wine industry. The winery, under stewardship of Seven Hills’ new winemaker, Bobby Richards, endeavors to reflect an unwavering commitment to creating wines; their Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon showcase the distinctive terroir of the Walla Walla Valley.
Both winery and tasting room are housed in the old brick Whitehouse Crawford Building, downtown Walla Walla’s only historic working winemaking facility. Built in 1904, the building, a former storefront, is located just across the parking lot from the iconic Marcus Whitman Hotel.
The cavernous space boasts a lovely dining room, intimate bar seating, the chef counter, and a quiet fireside nook. Floor to ceiling windows provide views of the winery operations. (The Edenhill Restaurant from Seattle is slated to open here soon.)
Seven Hills 2018 Walla Walla Valley Pentad, 95 pts.Made in only the best vintages, this Bordeaux varietal red displays colossal structure and harmony. Black and blue fruit, combined with steeped cherry flavors are inlaid with cocoa, fig, tobacco and graphite. Elegant throughout, gravel notes weave along the long finish. $85
This flagship old vine Cabernet offers lush dried currant, blackberries and spice neatly layered with anise, vanilla bean, black tea and bay leaf. Shows sleek, chiseled structure, with a ribbon of firm tannins that set the stage for a protracted finish. $55
Wine tasting room lead, Yvonne Davis says, “The philosophy here is that winemaking starts in the vineyard.” Visitors can expect a private, seated tasting with high-quality service, which is clearly intended to spoil them into returning.
Written and photographed by Gary and Pamela Baker